"The catering company changed its policy due to customer requests. The "customer" was that particular office cafeteria, monsanto employees specifically, who didn't want it served there. Swamps, I don't read that in the article. According to the article, the owners of the catering company made the decision. The article doesn't state the decision was based on any customer preference. To wit: "Sutcliffe Catering, owned by the Granada Group, said it had taken the decision "to remove, as far as practicable, GM soya and maize from all food products served in our restaurant." Notice at the end of the article it says "now it appears that even Monsanto's own catering firm has no confidence in this new technology." (emphasis added) It doesn't say anything about Monsanto's employees. It appears it was purely the decision of the catering firm. I can't imagine Friends of Earth would let it slide by if Monsanto's own employees requested non-GMO food. I've reprinted the full article below: "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. The firm running the canteen at Monsanto's pharmaceuticals factory at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, serves only GM-free meals, Friends of the Earth said. In a notice in the canteen, Sutcliffe Catering, owned by the Granada Group, said it had taken the decision "to remove, as far as practicable, GM soya and maize from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the above steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve." Monsanto confirmed the position. "Yes, this is the case, and it is because we believe in choice," said the company's spokesman, Tony Coombes. But employees at Monsanto's agribusiness plant at Cambridge were happy to eat GM produce, he said. "The notice in the restaurant there says some products may contain GMOs [genetically modified organisms] - because our staff are happy to eat food sprayed with fewer chemicals." Monsanto says crops engineered to be tolerant of its own weedkillers need less pesticide, but critics say that though the dosage may be less, the impact on the environment of these pesticides is much greater. Adrian Bebb, Friends of the Earth's food campaigner, said: "The public has made its concerns about GM ingredients very clear - now it appears that even Monsanto's own catering firm has no confidence in this new technology."

I found this on DG "At the time I originally wrote these comments, Aloe distans was a distinct species... but now both Aloe distans and Aloe mitriformis have been lumped together, which seems weird as they are quite distinct plants in cultivation (perhaps there is some 'intermediate' form in nature)... with one being a creeper with long stems completely covered with leaves and the other (mitriformis) a short, compact clumper with no inclination to sprawl at all... hmmm" So far this one is not showing signs of stretching out. but it is too early draw a judgment about that. It could just be young. It also feels like it will grow larger than the 5" for the A distan. It is already 6" and I am thinking it "feels" like it will get larger. That might be wishful thinking on my part. A. mitriformis might be the variation that is closer. I get so confused weather a synonym in the plant world is a second name or a close variation. When I googled A mitriformis I found that there are some Large A. mitrformis that are quite different from the A distans. True that isn't quite "SCIENTIFIC" research , but hey, I am just a budding dilettante, so please bear with me. I found this entry interesting showing the variability of habitat and formal differences in the species. It leaves my head swirling in confusion. A normal state for me. I like finding questions that I don't I don't feel that I need to find the answer to because of my lack of wherewithal to proclaim any answer the right answer. I leave that up to the experts. Since I wouldn't know the right answer if it was staring me in the face at times. Knowledge is like Dawn in a fog. There is no clear delineation most of the time. I always want the A HA moment but that is rare. May be I should change my handle to WantonDillettente...Nah, to long. I couldn't probably spell it the same three times running. Here is a link that might be useful: Variations in A mitriformis in S. Africa

Thanks for clearing that up, Beachplants. I don't know anyone with an Aloe plant, so I went ahead and bought a fairly nice-looking Aloe at Wal-Mart this morning! I went to Lowe's first , but the only Aloe plants there came in more expensive pots full of different kinds of cacti. For some reason, Wal-Mart didn't have any pots smaller than 4" diameter, so I went ahead and bought another 4" and repotted all 3 plants. I mixed a lot of perlite with the soil this time, about 50-60% perlite. It looks darker than that on top because I had to add some extra soil on top there. What happened was after I finished planting them, I went to pour out the extra soil/perlite mix in the garden. When I came back, all three plants had been ripped out of the soil, and the big one was on the ground outside of its pot! Coincidentally, my cat was nowhere to be found... She's now locked in the garage to think about what she's done :P Anyway, I had to a small layer of soil on top when I replanted them so that they would stand up straight. I'm keeping them inside for awhile too because I don't want my cat to get them again! Thanks again for the help, everyone. I know that the small plants should be in small pots, but they have grown well in a large pot so far. I will be sure to keep the soil dry between waterings. By the way, would anyone be able to tell me what type of Aloe the large one is? The stripes are really cool

Gregory! What an absolutely beautiful article and all that you have done..I love teh pictures and that is exactly what I would do to my place if I bought a house down there. I have friends from Thailand that live in St Petersburg and all they do is spend all day in their gardens trying to gorw what they could over seas.. Splendid and I really appreciate you sharing this with us.. What a beautiful family you have too... Thank you Mike:-)))