After lengthy debates, the National Council and the Council of States agreed to relax the moratorium on GMOs. In 2024, the Federal Council will have to propose a bill to allow certain modified seeds to be planted in Swiss fields. This is an important step towards a concrete authorization, but we still do not know when the first cultures will be effective.
As a reminder, Switzerland has prohibited the sale and cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on its territory since 2005, but authorizes them for scientific research.
An exception for certain manipulations was admitted on March 8th. This change is explained by the appearance of new technologies allowing less invasive modifications.
[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in French and has been translated and edited for clarity.]
