AnthroCurrents – April 4, 2014

A biweekly look at recent stories on anthropology and practicing anthropologists in the popular media

AnthroBasics: Food. Water. Shelter.

• In a video update of an earlier TEDx Talk, Wenonah Hauter warns about the dangers of privatizing poultry inspection. Hauter is the Executive Director of Food & Water Watch and an applied anthropologist. You can watch the original video here.
• The Brownsville Herald ran a piece on Michael Mascha, the anthropologist responsible for the bottled water connoisseur site FineWaters.com. Mascha is a great example of how being flexible and able to adapt in response to challenges can lead you to unexpected and enjoyable places.
• A mining town in Sweden chooses to move 2 miles away to more stable ground, and anthropologists are there to help.

We’re Good Enough, We’re Smart Enough…

• … and the way I figure it, John Kerry put anthropologists on the same level as rocket scientists in his remarks around the 2015 Milan Expo, whose theme will be Feeding the Planet/Energy For Life.
• Brad Ferguson (The Globe and Mail) gives encouragement to graduates in disciplines without clear paths from college to the working world, including anthropology. He says, “It has never been more important to understand how people live, think, co-exist, network and interact.” This article follows a similar piece in the Guardian discussing the skills and strengths graduates in humanities bring to the table.
• Finally, there’s this piece in Business Insider providing yet more examples of why companies are desperate to hire anthropologists. No, really. Now, go update that resume. And forward this to your parents.