"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."

Michael, when the suggestion was first made to start a Dwarf Project it was Patrina who made some of the first crosses and yes, she did send seeds back to Craig. But she also recruited quite a few folks down under to do growouts, some from Australia, some from New Zealand and one or two from Tasmania. Right now I'm think of Ray, Richard and Tessa but can't remember the other names offhand. She also does growouts at a community garden or two b/c of restricted space at her home. Some of her first crosses were from seeds that Craig had sent her b'c she had more time while Craig was still fully employed by Glaxo/Smith /Welcome/ at the time. In addition, while it was winter here that first year it was summer in Australia so she could start doing crosses before those in the N Hemisphere. And the group in the US working on the Project now runs way over a hundred and some in the Dwarf Project are doing their own crosses and sending seed back to Craig who then distributes the seed for growouts. It's a HUGE project. Right now I can't remember the number of lines that are being worked on, a lot, ahem, and I'm continually amazed at the results they're getting with respect to fruit sizes and shapes and colors, but TASTE remains as the first priority for final stable selections. A few years ago Craig sent me seedlings of Summer TIme Green, Summer Time Gold, Sweet Sue and Wild Fred, and one more I can't remember and I thought they were excellent. I was kinda one of the tasters for those, if you will. LOL I know of no one in Germany who has been involved other than Reinhard Kraft who did produce some seeds for Craig when the first dwarfs were released to certain public sites. Craig and I have been long time friends of Reinhard and this year alone I sent him a huge number of varieties and if you look at his growouts by year at his website you can see some of the ones I sent him b/c he indicates his sources. He's actively breeding his own now, but not for the Dwarf Project. And there are others here in the US who have also been producing seed of stable varieties as well for further distribution to new sites where they will be placed. But not doing crosses or growouts. THere could well be someone in Canada who is a participant, and if you go to Victory Seeds I think Mike has listed all the dwarf project members at his site. And I think Tania also posted the many participants in the dwarf project as well. Hope that helps to clear up the situation with the Dwarf Project. Carolyn

My husband who had AZ had a brain scan and the result was part of his brain had atrophied. It could never get better, that part of his brain was dead. Nothing helps Alzheimer patients. The meds they give them are all experimental, never been proven to help.

Oh, Justgotabeme, you need to read the rest. I loved the end: And you are left to wonder whether youÂve had it all wrong. That this isnÂt about things at all, but our ability to live without them. "Things are inherently anonymous through time," Kitson, the former archaeologist, once said. Plates shatter. Letters fade. And for the first time you can think about that and not feel sad. Because maybe thatÂs where we all really want to head in the end: To reach a place of such confidence  in our ability to summon the people we love, the places we have been, the person who we are  that we can let it all go. We can pass that part of ourselves on to a complete stranger.