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Get your free copy11 March 2013, 10:11 AM
- Owen Paterson has said genetically-modified crops should be sold in Europe and is hoping to change consumers' opinion of GM food
It is understood Chancellor George Osbourne is backing the minister because it could provide opportunities for British farmers.
Supporters have said Europe will suffer food shortages and be more reliant on imports if it continues to reject GM products.
An aide to Mr Paterson said, “He wants to have a national conversation about it, based on scientific evidence, and the Prime Minister supports that.”
The Government has allowed scientists to carry out small-scale GM cultivation trials, but its use in consumer products is banned.
A survey last month by the Food Standards Agency found two out of three UK consumers would want food from animals fed on GM crops to be labelled, and France and Germany are deeply opposed to any form of GM farming, which may make it difficult for the environment secretary to convince the EU to pass the law.
