Swiss crop GMO moratorium set to be extended

Towards an extension of the moratorium on genetic engineering Keystone-SDA

A Swiss moratorium on the genetic engineering of plants, which expires at the end of 2025, could be extended for a further five years.

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On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 153 to 42 in favour of an initiative to this effect put forward by its science committee.

The Federal Council wants a special law to regulate new plant breeding techniques. However, work is not sufficiently advanced to avoid a legal vacuum when the current moratorium expires.

By the end of 2030, no authorisation should be issued for the release, for agricultural, horticultural or forestry purposes, of genetically modified plants and plant parts, genetically modified seeds and other plant propagating material, or genetically modified animals.

The Senate has yet to take a decision.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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