Sunday, July 20, 2008

Happy Thoughts!











Bizarro is brought to you by Our Horrendous Predicament. "You asked for it
ENJOY!"

(click image to make it GMO BIG!)

Since I was a kid, I've enjoyed imagining and drawing what things would look like "if". Here, I got to explore what a pickup truck would look like if a 10,000 lbs. chicken stepped on it. It isn't strictly accurate, of course, an old truck from the 70s wouldn't have crushed nearly this easily or uniformly. But if I hadn't drawn it this way, wouldn't be funny. That's where science meets art in the world of the cartoonist. (said facetiously)

This cartoon also serves as a reminder of the dangers of GMO foods. Chickens probably won't grown to 25 feet tall (although I'd love to be there when one that size tore through the family room wall of Jim Perdue's house), but the truth is, we don't know what will happen. Like marriage, genetic modification can be sublimely beneficial or a never-ending horror show. In my opinion, it isn't something you should tinker with for as frivolous a reason as wider profit margins.

But that kind of thinking never stopped a capitalist before, so I'm pretty much just pissing into the wind. At least when the planet finally extinguishes our species, as our obese, pampered bodies succumb to flesh-eating bacteria and dissolve on live TV, some of us can wave our bumper stickers, pins, T-shirts, and cartoons and say, "TOLD you (cough, cough) so!"

This has been today's Bizarro Happy Thought. : )

I'll try to be more upbeat tomorrow.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was really great. This cartoon really made me laugh out loud. So loud the misses asked what I was laughing at. Going to run over to her and show it in a bit.

GMO scares me. We have enough food as it is really. What I don't understand why we need more crappy food we really don't know the dangers of. Or do we, I say as I'm reminded that I have IBS (which is mostly common in Western countries).

CrazyVeganMom said...

Sorry you've been having a tough time. Don't be upbeat on our account, you have to feel what you feel. Hey if "Crazy" Vegan Mom can't understand not being upbeat, who can?
I hope things are looking up for you soon.
Take care.

Colinski said...

Food of the Gods!

doug nicodemus said...

living in corn country i have mixed thoughts..when we breed corn we are by definition messing with their jeans...i mean if you compare its anscester maize with the crap that we raise today there is a HUGE different that breed into them to make corn...is it more dangerous to do it in the lab...especially when they use jeans that we never would have been able to breed in naturally welll llll ok lll hummmm i don't know and i guess maybe that's the guess or point.

JBrenneman said...

Dan: Don't be too upbeat. Your work is at it's best when the amount of irony and sarcasm is dripping from the panel and when the world is really pissing you off your work is pure genius.

HollyBerry said...

and there's nothing more comforting than knowing other people rant and rave as much as i do, and still have the decency to say "sorry i'm so pissy. the world makes me that way."

i can't even believe GMO food i so widely distributed without the consumer's knowledge. i actually took part in trying to rekindle the USDA's decision to label dairy products containing rBGH.. it didn't pass in Pennsylvania and trickled over to Ohio where I live. it really scares me that the food industries don't find it common sense to keep the consumer in the know of what they're eating and feeding their families. the FDA said the labels were "misleading" to the consumer because labeling milk products correctly was completely up to the producer, and not all companies participated. i actually stood up in front of a huge room of people and spoke my mind about how it is NOT misleading and it is the consumer's right to know. but anyway.. off the soap box for now.

Unknown said...

Did you see today's Non Sequitur cartoon?

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20080721/snq080721.gif

Is the author a vegan or animal right supporter of some other stripe? I keep noticing subtle stuff crop up in his cartoons of late.

Also, I have a strong suspicion about the guy who does Speed Bump, as well...

B.A.D. said...

One of the reasons your blog is such a joy to read is due to its reliability and smart commentary. Everyone experiences ups and downs, and lets be real when considering our modern world and the ways in which it's run, the future of our planet and species, well the picture isn't rosy.