But there was widespread public opposition to the introduction of GM food to Britain in the 1990s.
He told the newspaper he was confident David Cameron would find an "appropriate moment" to back GM food.
Others still are concerned that dabbling with GM food will lead to their being locked out of export markets.
It is absolutely essential that we kickstart the debate and re-examine GM food.
Campaigners in favour of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) hope that developments in this area will lessen public opposition to GM food.
"But if you ask a poor person if they would prefer to get GM food that costs less, they will say yes!"
Mr Paterson dismissed concerns about human health, arguing that widespread use of GM crops around the world meant people were already unwittingly eating GM food.
Professor Will Waites, a professor of food microbiology at the University of Nottingham who speaks on behalf of Cropgen, a scientific body linked to the GM food industry, was critical.
Although some Liberal Democrat ministers are reported to be open to the prospect of relaxing the rules on GM food, the party's grassroots has previously been hostile to the technology.
In particular, Green candidates will highlight control of GM food and GM crops planted against local will, the failure of energy policy to get to grips with climate change, nuclear power and nuclear weapons.
Since no plausible evidence has yet emerged of risks to human health from eating GM food, the environmentalists' main remaining objection is that GM plants may cross-pollinate others, spreading their alien genes to other species with unpredictable environmental effects.
Other surveys conducted show most people see GM offers cheaper food, an improved environment, medical benefits and increased competitiveness in the economy.
According to Anthony Trewavas, a vocal critic of organic food and proponent of GM, today's global-food problems demand agricultural pragmatism and flexibility, not ideology.
Next-generation GM crops could boost food grown, cut pesticide use, make crops more resistant to droughts like the one that crushed the US corn crop last year, even create crops that fertilize themselves from the air.
FORBES: Saving the World With the Power of Ideas: A Conversation With Ramez Naam
While Americans seem happy enough to consume food made from GM crops, opinion polls continue to show that European consumers dislike the idea.
The year ended particularly badly for activists when the White House reversed its political opposition to approving the first animal genetically modified for human consumption, a GM slamon that scientists at the Food and Drug Administration had determined was perfectly safe and nutritious.
The uptake of more radical innovations, such as drought resistant GM crops, is another solution to increase food production, suggests Agrimonde's report.
He says that confusingly, some of the money spent on food labelled organic will be going to fight the GM labelling proposition in California.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says it does not expect GM crops to be grown commercially in the UK until at least 2008.
BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | GM crop bans survive Euro votes
For him, the global food crisis and America's apparently trouble-free GM experience change nothing.
Up to now, food manufacturers and retailers, and thus their customers, have not had to pay a big premium for GM-free ingredients.
应用推荐