
Not Angry Birds: An iPad App That Lets You Play With Real Pigs - sdoering
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679145/not-angry-birds-an-ipad-app-that-lets-you-play-with-pigs
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erikpukinskis
I'm not overstating myself when I say: this represents, to me, everything that
is wrong with our society.

We have companies like Target that exploit workers, destroy the environment,
and sell toxic products to us, only then to "donate" 5% of it's profit to
charity.

We have people driving around wearing TOMS shoes which are made, marketed, and
sold using fuel that... ahem... fuels colonialism of the very same sort that
made those African kids shoeless in the first place.

And now we have pigs being entertained by some flashing lights, while they are
locked in a metal box.

You want to know what's entertaining to pigs? Digging is fucking entertaining
to pigs. Rooting around in the dirt for some awesomeness to munch.

Flashing lights are about as awesome to a pig as Dubstep would be to someone
who had been denied human contact their entire life.

Let's stop trying to paper over disgusting business practices with last ditch
attempts at charity.

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jeremymims
Interesting concept. At first glance a noble mission.

Nevertheless, this is yet another rationalization for something horrible. When
you think about sentient animals that enjoy entertainment, feel boredom, get
aggressive when confined, and have a desire to be intellectually stimulated,
you realize what an unbelievably sick circumstance this really is.

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LaGrange
Actually, if I got to play with a specific pig several times, got attached to
it a bit, and then the pig would disappear... I don't think I'd eat bacon
again.

Then again, I'm feeling guilty every time I eat meat as it is.

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its_so_on
technically (as in, in actual reality), you _are_ guilty every time you eat
meat. Note that I don't feel that way personally, and eat meat all the time, I
don't entertain two thoughts about this, any more than I feel guilty about
slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees to meet Apple's excruciating
demands for components, all fueled by my purchase and demand, and the
purchases and demands of millions like me, but, there's reality for you.

In actual reality, we _are_ guilty. That doesn't mean you should feel guilty
though.

www.google.com/search?q=factory+farming

www.google.com/search?q=foxconn+labor+conditions

~~~
bh42222
I genuinely do feel bad about slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees
enough to not own any Apple hardware. Or any hardware linked to foxconn.

But I don't feel the least bad about eating organic meat.

As long as animals live a mostly stress and pain free life, I have no problem
with using them as food.

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dangero
Interesting idea, but it's not scalable. As you add more users, your
interaction is less meaningful.

On the other hand, if the app let you interact one on one with an animal, then
that is a very novel concept especially for a kid who lives in a metropolitan
area, etc.

~~~
dangero
Just thought of something else. Imagine an app where you can pay an in app
purchase to feed a real animal. Kind of like an online petting zoo... There's
a lot of potential there.

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tibbon
Where in the world can you get a large, bright, color, touchscreen like that?
I would love for my band to have one.

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siavosh
Man, that giant touchscreen is going to get dirty fast.

