Sir: Your picture of pigeons in Trafalgar Square eating off a visitor's tongue (Review, 26 August) may have been posed. But it is very representative of the silly, dangerous antics of thousands who feed pigeons.

I AGREE with Philip Greig (Letters, 8 August) that Lord Melchett and Greenpeace should be applauded in trying to protect us from becoming GM's guinea pigs. The argument that biotechnology is needed to feed the world is patently untrue. James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, has admitted that hunger is caused by political and economic decisions, not a lack of food.

`A virtual call centre: to have virtually no contact with your customers'

I Work For... JulIe Poelvoorde is PA to Linda Huett, The Vice chairman of operations at Weight Watchers UK Ltd, part of an international company

URBAN DWELLERS in "food deserts" - deprived city areas where fresh food is difficult or expensive to buy - have come up with an enterprising solution: to grow their own.

REPORTS by friends of the hunger striker Barry Horne about his condition were "flawed and inaccurate", a hospital spokesman said yesterday.

BARRY HORNE, the imprisoned animal rights activist who has been on hunger strike since 6 October, was still able to speak a little last night, but is losing clarity of thought. Supporters are now waiting for news of his death.

Sir: "Food deserts" are not confined to inner cities; the plight of the rural poor is just as wretched.

Sir: It is rather sad that the latest BBC TV course on cooking does not address the right audience - for all that it is advertised as "basic". We really do need a TV course on cooking for a family, on a limited budget, in a not very well equipped kitchen. It should have a cheap book to go with it, with not just recipes but also complete plans for food for a week at a time, including shopping plans designed with or without supermarket support. Everyone needs help with cooking, not just the well- heeled.

Letter: Hunger amid plenty

Sir: If planning permission for supermarkets in leafy suburbs were conditional on a smaller one being built in a "food desert" with the emphasis on fresh, healthy food in small quantities and accessibility on foot, the problem would rapidly be alleviated. The supermarket chains would, I am sure, be delighted to absorb the relatively low profits and in so doing give something back to society from which they have prospered so well.

Sir:Save the Children has been warning for some time that malnutrition is not only a constant in the lives of millions of children overseas but is also a real risk here in the UK. Research conducted last year by Save the Children into "food deserts" and children's nutrition highlighted the impact family income has on children's diets.

HUNGER IS once again stalking the streets of Britain and is threatening the health of future generations, according to the chairman of a government inquiry into health inequalities.

THE BODY of Rahime Brahimi lay wrapped in a sheet under the shelter made of branches and plastic bags which had been her home since she fled her Kosovo village "under Serbian guns" in March.