http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/13387/story.htm

 Swiss reject bid for open-air GMO wheat test

 SWITZERLAND: November 21, 2001

 BERNE - A Swiss government agency has rejected a request by
 researchers to conduct controlled open-air tests of genetically
 modified wheat for fear of the study's potential damage to the
 environment, officials said yesterday.

 Hans Hosbach, head of the Federal Environment, Forestry and Agriculture
 Bureau's biotechnology section, said the Federal Institute of
 Technology's (ETH) request to hold the test was rebuffed because it was not
 sufficiently justified.

 The agency had asked ETH researchers to revamp their initial request to
 test modified wheat's resistance to the stinking smut fungus, but even
 the revised application left open too many questions about the
 environmental impact, he said.

 The ETH has 30 days to appeal against the ruling.

 In a statement, the ETH said it regretted the ruling.

 "Field trials are essential for basic research in molecular biology, so
 the ETH sees the agency's decision as a very unfavourable signal for
 Switzerland as a research centre and for its international
 competitiveness,"  it said.

 REUTERS NEWS SERVICE