a two-year campaign against genetic engineering by environmentalists, animal rights and consumer groups in Switzerland received a severe jolt on June 7, when Swiss voters, in a referendum, decisively rejected a proposal to ban the production and patenting of genetically modified organisms ( gmo s). The people rejected the ban by a two-to-one margin. None of the country's 26 cantons or political areas voted in favour of the restrictions. The referendum has wide-ranging ramifications for the European countries which have been closely watching the situation.

Switzerland is the only country in the world to have voted on one of the most contentious of modern scientific issues. The proposal