Wanted: matchmaker for the delicate task of introducing a lonely female to the opposite sex. Agility with tweezers and magnifying glass an advantage.

What about Mugabe? 'He is my friend. Have you met him?' I have met many of his victims, I say. 'We all make mistakes'

Eden update - Keep an eye on SI - Mondas revival

Eden Research, the embattled Ofex-listed pesticides group, has called a truce in its war of words with an internet tipsheet, but there is one man who refuses to quieten down - the company's former research partner, Reed Smith.

MONSANTO, THE biggest promoter of genetically modified food, was hoist with its own petar when it was disclosed that it has a staff canteen in which GM produce is banned.

Sir: It is refreshing to see that Tony Blair's Performance and Innovation Unit is proposing that the green belt should be relaxed and farmland freed for development (report, 11 December).

Sir: I read with interest your article on the disappearance of sparrows (13 November), and I beg to differ with Denis Summers-Smith when he rules out the increase of wild birds of prey as a cause for the decline of sparrows.

JOCASTA SHAKESPEARE thought she was careful about her food. Then she was tested for pesticides

Sir: It is not true to say that organic crops are completely free from pesticides ("Foods for thought", 21 September). The organic farmer has access to an array of "natural" products, including the notorious Bt insecticide. Some natural compounds are highly toxic.

IT HAS been a good week for health scares - four by my reckoning. Hope you're all feeling a lot better. Mere survival these days is coming to be an achievment in itself.

BSE-free? No nasty chemicals? More and more of us are switching to organic produce as a healthy option.

FOOD CAMPAIGNERS called for new safety checks last night after fruit and vegetables sold in British supermarkets were found to contain pesticide levels above recommended limits. Government scientists, who concluded that the results of their study were "reassuring", were accused of glossing over the dangers the pesticides pose to humans.

Winter lettuce