It’s become something of a personal quest: find the original “syringe-in-the-plant” image. For the last 5 years, I’ve been communicating about science and agriculture. Biotechnology comes up a lot. This syringe-in-the-plant image also comes up a lot.
[Editor’s note: Nick Saik is the founder of Know Ideas Media.]
Has it always been an anti-GMO symbol, or did it get co-opted along the way? My search originally led me to conclude that this was all Woody Allen’s fault. In a previous video, I presented the evidence that Allen’s 1973 film Sleeper was the first instance of this image. I was wrong.
Apparently, the image originates with a man named Arthur Radebaugh. In this….video, I speak with documentary filmmaker Brett Ryan Bonowicz, creator of the Arthur Radebaugh documentary Closer Than We Think. Brett fills me in on Radebaugh, and I learn that his influence goes far deeper than a syringe in a tomato.
Original video: It’s All Arthur Radebaugh’s Fault
