(December 1st) Seminar on avian influenza control in Vietnam

The Department of Anthropology and the Museum of Anthropology cordially invite faculty and students to attend the seminar.

Topic"Nobody wants to raise poultry!" - Some comments on avian influenza control in some poultry farming areas in Vietnam.

Presenter: Natalie Porter (PhD. Candidate, Anthropology Department, University of Wisconsin Madison, USA).

SummarySince 2003, the emergence of avian influenza has brought about significant changes in Vietnam's poultry industry. To combat avian influenza, world health organizations, in collaboration with the Vietnamese government, have restructured poultry farming for biosecurity purposes. By reorienting traditional farming practices to global commercial standards, this process is transforming an agricultural sector long ingrained in the consciousness of most small-scale poultry farmers. The author's presentation will summarize ethnographic research at three locations involved in avian influenza control and prevention, including a state-run center for health and agricultural policy-making and two poultry farming areas in the north and south. The author will discuss two key questions: How have global health activities in avian influenza control, which have altered poultry farming in various ways, affected attitudes toward health, risk, and the environment? How will people cope with and respond to changes in their daily livestock production activities, as well as in their relationship with global health officials and policies? By examining how avian influenza prevention strategies have been developed previously, and further comparing practices in two different socioeconomic areas, the author can explore changes in the daily lifestyles of livestock farmers in the face of a new pandemic threat.

Time9:00 AM, Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

LocationMultimedia Room, Museum of Anthropology, 3rd floor, Building D, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.