Tesco boss hints at GM backing

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has signalled that the retailer is willing to back genetically modified (GM) foods, saying consumer attitudes have changed and it has a vital part to play.

Speaking at the annual City Food Lecture, held in London, Leahy said: “In some ways it may have been a failure of us all actually to stand behind the science.

“You get a sense that whilst always the scientific evidence was clear, governments let alone retailers stopped short of wholehearted endorsing it and I think that that certainly didn’t help in the case of GM…”

He added that there also seemed to be a growing appreciation by people that GM was likely to play “a vital role in feeding the world, in adapting to climate change and indeed in producing some of these more nutritional products – foods - that people will need”.

Leahy said: “I get a sense that the science has moved on another notch and maybe there is an opportunity to discuss again these issues based on still clearer scientific evidence.”

Amid rising food insecurity where food manufacturers face volatile commodity prices and supply issues, GM crops have been promoted as a way of helping to ease a food crisis.