The average UK household’s annual food bill was over £100 higher in 2012 than in 2011, putting a strain on overstretched household budgets.

In poorer countries, where people often spend most of their incomes on food, price rises have an even greater impact, forcing millions to go hungry.

One of the reasons prices have been rising so rapidly is that banks and hedge funds are pouring millions of pounds of speculative money into food futures markets, pushing prices beyond the levels dictated by supply and demand.

Access to food is a basic human right, and banks should not be allowed to play havoc with food prices. New legislation to limit food speculation is on the table at the EU, but George Osborne and his Treasury colleagues have so far blocked tough controls. We must demand that our politicians put the needs of hungry people, at home and abroad, before the profits of investment banks.

David Sleet, Old Orchard, Haxby, York.

 

• High food prices are a serious problem across the world. People on lower incomes in the UK are having to cut back their weekly grocery shopping, while in poorer countries high food prices can be a matter of life and death.

The changing climate and the increasing use of food crops for biofuels are part of the problem. Banks are also culpable. Financial speculation by banks and hedge funds is fuelling food price rises, often pushing them much higher than supply and demand can explain.

I'm taking part in a campaign by the World Development Movement calling for strict regulation to curb food speculation. We need to make sure that the finance sector stops making easy money at the expense of hungry people. Food is too important to be subject to reckless financial gambling.

Emily Weaver, Lesley Avenue, York.