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Swiss vote yes to genetic technology
On Sunday 7th June Swiss voters decisively rejected the initiative "...for the Protection of Life and the Environment against Genetic Manipulation", proposed by a consortium of 50 environmental, animal rights and consumer groups, which would have banned many forms of genetic engineering and severely restricted all other applications of the technology. The Swiss constitution requires that a national referendum must be held on any issue when a petition to that effect has gathered the signatures of 100,000 registered voters. To be passed, a referendum needs a majority of votes in favour of the proposal and a majority of the 26 cantons voting in favour.
Such referenda are relatively common and there have been several aimed at banning animal experimentation over the last 20 years. None has been successful. However, this was the first Swiss referendum on genetic engineering. In the run up to the poll, the majority of respondents declared themselves undecided. As the date of the poll approached, the fraction opposed to the initiative increased to indicate a narrow defeat. The vote on June 7th was 67% against, 33% in favour and a majority in every canton against. Since many Swiss referenda are decided by a relatively narrow majority, this is regarded as a very sound defeat for the initiative.
The coalition of 50 environmental, animal rights and consumer groups which proposed the initiative had been campaigning on it for two years, spending over a million dollars. Whilst the amount spent by the Swiss pharmaceutical industry on the campaign against the initiative is unknown, it is certain to be several million dollars. The scientific community in Switzerland was particularly active in communicating the enormous damage that would be done by a ban on genetic engineering. A loss of 42,000 jobs was predicted, with all the main pharmaceutical companies having to move abroad.
Switzerland already has strict laws controlling genetic engineering and, to limit support for the initiative, the government recently announced their intention to bring in new controls - known as the Gen-Lex initiative. There is broad support for Gen-Lex both from the Swiss public and from scientists and industry. It is expected that the new regulations will come into effect by 1999.
Environmental campaigners have acknowledged that the referendum was soundly defeated but have indicated that they will not give up. There is already discussion of a new initiative focusing on the much more difficult issue of genetically-modified food ingredients.
The possibility that the vote might go in favour of the initiative has already caused concern over the future of genetic research in Switzerland. In the run-up to the vote, Novartis, the country's largest pharmaceutical company, announced their decision to build a new $250 million genetics research institute in California. It is not known whether the referendum influenced their decision about where to locate their new research facility.