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It's an old joke but how would it actually affect the food chain and our everyday lives?

Note

There are other threads about flying animals and characters but I haven't found one that deals with the specific issues of their effect on human society. Additionally these are super-pigs which is also different.

Assumptions

Pigs fly by the same method as Superman (whatever that is).

Pigs are super-beings to the same extent that Superman is. They have X-ray vision when needed and their skin will stop bullets, etc. They are not as intelligent as people so they don't use their abilities as well as Superman does. They only have normal pig intelligence.

We do not have Superman or Kryptonite to protect us. If you like there may be very limited amounts of Kryptonite available but the entire world supply is only sufficient to weaken a dozen pigs at most and pigs are everywhere.

Pigs eat more or less what they do now. They are omnivores. Also they need to eat just like normal pigs.

EDIT to be more specific about Superman's powers.

It would be impractical to post all the superpowers here. I therefore refer you to the following site. Powers and abilities of Superman If there is any conflict then I prefer powers that he had from the 1978 Christopher Reeve movies or later. As mentioned, they don't have super intelligence.

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    $\begingroup$ Once cooked is the pork tender or super tough? $\endgroup$
    – Gary Walker
    Aug 30, 2015 at 20:22
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    $\begingroup$ Superman can endure fire. My guess is that you would have to use Kryptonite cooking utensils. That would make pig meat a delicacy that only the richest people in the word could afford. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 20:33
  • $\begingroup$ Superman once said this to Darkseid: "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big man" $\endgroup$
    – user6760
    Aug 31, 2015 at 8:54

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The outcome of super-pigs is simple: we all die.

Oh, it will take a while, but since our pigs are now invulnerable, their numbers will increase without limit, as will the amount they eat. For domestic pigs, litter size is about 10 to 12, with about 2 1/2 litters per year. This paper Pig Reproduction uses a conservative estimate of 20 offspring per year, and since half of any litter are sows, the growth rate for the superpig population is about 1000% per year. 10 years after the first super-pigs appear, the total population will outnumber people. These flying, invulnerable eating machines will quickly learn to concentrate on farm produce, and there will be no way to stop them.

And, since there is no way to cut them, their carcasses will be inedible.

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  • $\begingroup$ On the other hand we can't stop locusts and they eat farm crops. Yet they don't overwhelm the world. Similarly lions don't destroy all herbivores in Africa. I don't think it's that simple. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 22:17
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    $\begingroup$ Right. But locusts have evolved for specific climates, and have limited travel ranges. Superpigs can live anywhere, and can fly anywhere, so local food shortages will simply cause them to look elsewhere. And lions do a pretty good job of limiting their own numbers through territoriality, so they don't migrate with the herds - and suffer considerable mortality during lean times. Not to mention killing of cubs during pride leader changes. $\endgroup$
    – WhatRoughBeast
    Aug 30, 2015 at 22:35
  • $\begingroup$ Well I don't think superpigs could live in the desert for example. Also, although in theory they could fly anywhere, they may not be intelligent enough to think of leaving their natural habitat. They would certainly break out of pens immediately but they might simply head for the nearest forest. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 22:45
  • $\begingroup$ And you know this from your extensive experience with pigs, I presume? $\endgroup$
    – WhatRoughBeast
    Aug 30, 2015 at 22:48
  • $\begingroup$ Oh you know, just general reading about wild boars living in forests. I did however sometimes work on my uncle's farm during the summer when I was a teenager so I have had some dealings with domestic pigs. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 22:52
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The kryptonite would be key. If we immediately recognized the threat, we could potentially hunt down all the super-pigs with the kryptonite before they became a threat. Otherwise, we'd have to out-last them as they slowly starved to death after eating everything on the planet. Then we could hunt down the remaining super-pigs.

Barring that, we'd have to survive long enough for the microbes to evolve and prove yet again that they're at the top of the food chain. Then hope the super-bacteria don't like humans.

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  • $\begingroup$ Unfortunately, pigs eat humans. Bones and all $\endgroup$
    – No Name
    May 23 at 11:39
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Jewish people and those of other religions which forbid the consumption of pork would immediately be identified as ambassadors to this new class of super pigs.

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  • $\begingroup$ Maybe but would the pigs, with only normal pig intelligence take any notice of their ambassadors? $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 19:44
  • $\begingroup$ I'd say that depends on whether they took notice of the slaughterhouses making bacon with their x-ray vision. They may need some significant calming down after that. $\endgroup$
    – Cort Ammon
    Aug 30, 2015 at 19:49
  • $\begingroup$ Maybe but pigs have no sense of morality and they have been known to eat their own young. nadis.org.uk/bulletins/savaging-of-piglets.aspx I suspect the first thing they would do is eat the bacon. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 30, 2015 at 19:54
  • $\begingroup$ Definitely a Cort Ammon answer $\endgroup$
    – PyRulez
    Aug 31, 2015 at 1:17
  • $\begingroup$ these piggies would consume anything even ambassadors... $\endgroup$
    – user6760
    Aug 31, 2015 at 8:35
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Instead of having your hair screwed by bird poo, you would be in a world of pain due to the end result of pig's digestion falling into your head... On the other hand, it would be slight better than if cows could fly...

Please vote my answer !! :P

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm not so sure about that last point. Pig excreta smells a whole lot worse than cow excrement. $\endgroup$
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Aug 31, 2015 at 9:05
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If pigs could fly, I would fly across the ocean on it. All airline companies will go down. There will be only pig express. After all human are known to tame the most fearful ones.

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