Supermarkets and companies must label products more clearly to show consumers exactly where their food is coming from, environment secretary Hilary Benn has said.
Benn urged people to "buy more British and eat more British" to increase demand for home-grown foods.
He also encouraged British agriculture to produce as much as possible to ensure food security.
Under current EU legislation, a pork pie made from Danish pork could be labelled British as long as it was processed in this country. Benn described this system as "nonsense".
Benn assured delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference that the government was pressing for improvements to European rules to show where an animal is born, reared and slaughtered.
He also said he will meet representatives of the food industry in a bid to bring in voluntary country of origin labeling.
"When you buy a car you know its service history. When you buy a house you get a detailed survey," he said.
"So why do we accept knowing so much less about what we are putting into our bodies?
"Under current European regulations, a product's country of origin is the place where it underwent its last significant process. But this can hide where it really came from."
Benn added: "I want British agriculture to produce as much food as possible. No ifs, no buts.
"We could produce more fruit and vegetables here in the UK - the market is there, so what's holding us back?
"If there's demand then production should follow. So the answer is to buy more British and eat more British."
Benn also accepted that the economic situation would make it tough for farmers, but said total income from farming and food self-sufficiency had both increased in the last year.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd