I was privileged enough to attend the annual City Food Lecture this week, of which FPJ is a sponsor, and as so often happens when the great and good of the food industry gather in one place for any length of time, the subject of genetic modification cropped up (pun intended).

The guest speaker, Sir David King - a former chief scientific adviser to the government and now director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford - constructed a compelling argument that GM should play a role, alongside other solutions, in securing food supplies for a projected population of nine billion.

Attitudes seem to be neatly divided across the produce industry as to whether GM technology carries grave risks and is something to be avoided at all costs, or if it ought to be embraced as one of a series of vital responses in tackling the burning issue of food security.

With the distinct possibility of nine billion mouths to feed in the future, I would argue that any technology capable of increasing food production is worth serious consideration - be that GM or any other plant breeding technique on offer.

Of course, the biggest obstacle preventing progress in this debate in the UK is the often negative consumer perception of GM food - based on a plethora of largely biased national media reports - and a lack of clear advice and guidance from the food industry on the issue. It’s high time the public was given the credibility - and the ability - to make its own mind up.