My issue with it is that while a mad scientist may try to destroy the world with his mutant carrot that devours the unborn (or something like that), I also know that GMO can help things like crops grow in deserts. So I am a bit wibbly wobbly on the issue myself. Except Godzilla. I always support Godzilla. May his Lizardness live for an eternity.
Carrots did not become orange through GMOs, but through selection. The purple carrots started to be left aside for the orange carrots which became more widely cultivated.
Selective breeding is genetic modification by definition. Thus carrots, dogs, cats, tomatoes, and many other things people have literally no problem with are gmos.
Also, genetic modification is not the issue, The issue is business practices of companies doing genetic modification.
Selective breeding alters the subject within its own and like plant/animals compatible gene pool over successive generations, taking time to weed out undesirable traits. Non-viable specimens cannot breed. GMO’s are altered in one generation using genetic material from organisms that may not even be from the same phylum. The long range results of consumption cannot be determined without lab testing that the GM companies actively discourage with lawsuits. That’s the difference.
There’s no evidence so far – and I mean literally no evidence, despite decades of government-sponsored testing – that GMOs *ever* hurt people, and no scientific reason to suspect that they would. Most of the alterations made involve production of novel proteins which have already been tested for human safety and there’s really no reason to believe that they’d suddenly become dangerous when made by a plant instead of a bacterium.
I mean, yes, technically we can’t *know* they’re safe because they could always be dangerous a few more years down the road than when we collected the data, but in the absence of any reason to believe that they’re harmful you might as well insist that TV burns out your brain cells or GPS is controlling the weather. There’s a reason pretty much the entire scientific community is pro-GMO, at least for food and so on; there’s just no credible argument against it.
Wow today’s comic is almost political in nature 🙂 Nicely done – bring on the GMO – we need far more investment and research in GMO’s especially with the changing climate and population growth.
Would farming Godzilla’s be an efficient way of producing meat for our populations?
I think most people are okay with GMO. It’s just that they hate Monsanto for monopolizing and taking advantages of farmers in developing countries like India.
“Torch – and – Pitchforky”. I’m going to try to work that into a sentence somehow today. Brilliant!
Always makes me think of Frankenstein movies.
And the title! You’re on fire, Adam.
And don’t make me get my soapbox out on GMO’s…
Millions of deaths by starvation and malnutrition bad.
GMO good.
Monsanto bad.
While we’re at it, nuclear power good, molten salt reactors better, fusion best.
Is there such a thing as a molten salt reactor? I’ve only heard of them as energy storage for solar and so on.
How would it work? I don’t see how you could get any energy from salt at all in of itself.
Yeah, but I’m asking if there’s a way to extract the energy from the salt and thus make a salt reactor, or if it’s just an energy-storage mechanism from other sources. Although I suppose you could describe most “sources” as just ways of storing something else, so it’s a bit of a silly distinction.
In reality, ALL of our crops are GMOs. We have modified their genetic information over generations to try and increase crop yield and resistance to disease.
I think its a connotation thing; While yes, selective breeding (SB), in a sense, is manipulating a genetic structure (think of it as fast forwarding natural evolution towards a specific target) SB requires, to an extent, the potential for the desired outcome to be genetically viable from the get-go. Whereas GMO operations, to my understanding, are gene-splicing and the like, would be virtually impossible in nature.
Godzilla is an analogy for the irradiation, chemical exposure, and selection techniques that are used on pretty much everything the modern human consumes, including the organic stuff. It is more random and more potentially destructive and uncontrollable than modern GE techniques, thus “Godzilla” and there is the joke. You’re welcome. 🙂
I know nobody cares about soccer in USA, but as one of the other six and some billion people in the world, I would love to “see” bug’s thoughts on World Cup 🙂
Unmodified crops lack the capacity to feed everyone and take up much more land. My problem is with the “Natural” stuff same product but far more expensive, by law what you need to call something natural is a negligible difference, and they use the same kinds of pesticides that GMO’s secrete so they don’t really have any reason to say they’re better.
Seems to me that all that means is you can tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
My issue with it is that while a mad scientist may try to destroy the world with his mutant carrot that devours the unborn (or something like that), I also know that GMO can help things like crops grow in deserts. So I am a bit wibbly wobbly on the issue myself. Except Godzilla. I always support Godzilla. May his Lizardness live for an eternity.
I suggest you bury your head in shame.
GMOs, like Godzilla, are here to stay
Every carrot you eat is a product of GMO’s because carrots used to be purple.
Carrots did not become orange through GMOs, but through selection. The purple carrots started to be left aside for the orange carrots which became more widely cultivated.
Selective breeding is genetic modification by definition. Thus carrots, dogs, cats, tomatoes, and many other things people have literally no problem with are gmos.
Also, genetic modification is not the issue, The issue is business practices of companies doing genetic modification.
Selective breeding alters the subject within its own and like plant/animals compatible gene pool over successive generations, taking time to weed out undesirable traits. Non-viable specimens cannot breed. GMO’s are altered in one generation using genetic material from organisms that may not even be from the same phylum. The long range results of consumption cannot be determined without lab testing that the GM companies actively discourage with lawsuits. That’s the difference.
@Korbi WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
@StoneMason CORRECT! CORRECT! CORRECT, and thank you for the explanation.
There’s no evidence so far – and I mean literally no evidence, despite decades of government-sponsored testing – that GMOs *ever* hurt people, and no scientific reason to suspect that they would. Most of the alterations made involve production of novel proteins which have already been tested for human safety and there’s really no reason to believe that they’d suddenly become dangerous when made by a plant instead of a bacterium.
I mean, yes, technically we can’t *know* they’re safe because they could always be dangerous a few more years down the road than when we collected the data, but in the absence of any reason to believe that they’re harmful you might as well insist that TV burns out your brain cells or GPS is controlling the weather. There’s a reason pretty much the entire scientific community is pro-GMO, at least for food and so on; there’s just no credible argument against it.
Wow today’s comic is almost political in nature 🙂 Nicely done – bring on the GMO – we need far more investment and research in GMO’s especially with the changing climate and population growth.
Would farming Godzilla’s be an efficient way of producing meat for our populations?
GO GO GMO!! Aw, there’s the problem. The theme song is broken.
I think most people are okay with GMO. It’s just that they hate Monsanto for monopolizing and taking advantages of farmers in developing countries like India.
I’d be rather cross if some scientist made me a carrot. I’ll stay a human, thank you very much.
*deep breath*
*long groan*
Finally, an actual LOL via the internet!
Loved the movement in the last panel. Looks great
I can never see a pitchfork without thinking of Caddyshack. Gunga-Gulunga.
That ducttaped lizard *wipes cola off the monitor* 🙂
“Torch – and – Pitchforky”. I’m going to try to work that into a sentence somehow today. Brilliant!
Always makes me think of Frankenstein movies.
And the title! You’re on fire, Adam.
And don’t make me get my soapbox out on GMO’s…
Millions of deaths by starvation and malnutrition bad.
GMO good.
Monsanto bad.
While we’re at it, nuclear power good, molten salt reactors better, fusion best.
Is there such a thing as a molten salt reactor? I’ve only heard of them as energy storage for solar and so on.
How would it work? I don’t see how you could get any energy from salt at all in of itself.
The heat makes water into steam and that spins a turbine, same as a nuclear reactor. Most power sources are steam engines with a fancy heat source.
Yeah, but I’m asking if there’s a way to extract the energy from the salt and thus make a salt reactor, or if it’s just an energy-storage mechanism from other sources. Although I suppose you could describe most “sources” as just ways of storing something else, so it’s a bit of a silly distinction.
Hoping this is a joke, because aside from Monsanto’s douchebaggery, much of the controversy around GMOs are scare tactics.
In reality, ALL of our crops are GMOs. We have modified their genetic information over generations to try and increase crop yield and resistance to disease.
There is a difference between selective breeding and injecting foreign DNA via bacteria.
Another misguided soul, the failed product of our so-called education system.
I think its a connotation thing; While yes, selective breeding (SB), in a sense, is manipulating a genetic structure (think of it as fast forwarding natural evolution towards a specific target) SB requires, to an extent, the potential for the desired outcome to be genetically viable from the get-go. Whereas GMO operations, to my understanding, are gene-splicing and the like, would be virtually impossible in nature.
What came first? The Comic or the Title?
The comic. Got lucky with the title.
Godzilla is an analogy for the irradiation, chemical exposure, and selection techniques that are used on pretty much everything the modern human consumes, including the organic stuff. It is more random and more potentially destructive and uncontrollable than modern GE techniques, thus “Godzilla” and there is the joke. You’re welcome. 🙂
I know nobody cares about soccer in USA, but as one of the other six and some billion people in the world, I would love to “see” bug’s thoughts on World Cup 🙂
I just went back in time (to the first comic) just for something to do.
I then realized that Bug was started on the day my divorce was finalized.
It was like a divorce celebration present!
Best part about this comic:
The potential for the greatest West-borough Baptist Counter-protest poster of all time in panel 2!
Godzilla Hates Tanks…. Genius.
Glad I’m not the only one who immediately thought WBC while reading panel 2.
Unmodified crops lack the capacity to feed everyone and take up much more land. My problem is with the “Natural” stuff same product but far more expensive, by law what you need to call something natural is a negligible difference, and they use the same kinds of pesticides that GMO’s secrete so they don’t really have any reason to say they’re better.
I just realized the cute widdle baby monster is taped to a bomb. That bug is a monster.
There’s no major difference between GMOs/genetic engineering and regular old agriculture, except the former is more direct.