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Genetically modified crops may be in regular use by farmers in the United States, but introducing the food to Europe has provoked opposition, notably from campaigners who argue it is a danger to human health. GM crops are banned in France and Germany.

Opponents are worried about the threat to traditional seeds, a lack of long term impact studies and fears about the influence of multi-national food businesses.

Regulators in Europe are trying to convince consumers that GM crops are safe and the UK has decided to allow a strain of genetically modified wheat to be grown in a field trial this year. Scientists have engineered the plant to make better use of sunlight, which has boosted the crop yield by 40% in greenhouse trials.

So is the UK moving closer to encouraging farmers to grow GM crops?

We hear from Dr Malcolm Hawkesford, at Rothamsted Research, the company that has developed the wheat and Liz O'Neill, a director of GM Freeze, which campaigns against genetically modified crops.

(Picture: Genetically modified wheat. Getty Images.)

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