Caring and killing: A human jellyfish story

The article centres on the idea of care in human attempts to remove microplastics from the water with the help of jellyfish bodies, asking: who is cared for, and who bears the cost for this care? It has recently come to light that jellyfish bodies have properties that can be utilized by humans to catch microplastics. This has led to an initiative to create filters for wastewater treatment plants that will use jellyfish bodies to catch microplastics from wastewater to mitigate the effects of human pollution. However, in the process of becoming products for various human uses (filters for wastewater plants, nutrients for agriculture, and even food), the jellyfish are killed. Humans thus seek to provide care for the underwater world by removing plastics, but to do so, they are using the bodies of jellyfish themselves.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Anthropology Today
Published
2025-05-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12962
Primary Topic
Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Caring and killing: A human jellyfish story

Rasmus Rodineliussen
Anthropology Today
Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
article

Caring and killing: A human jellyfish story

Rasmus Rodineliussen
article en

Abstract

The article centres on the idea of care in human attempts to remove microplastics from the water with the help of jellyfish bodies, asking: who is cared for, and who bears the cost for this care? It has recently come to light that jellyfish bodies have properties that can be utilized by humans to catch microplastics. This has led to an initiative to create filters for wastewater treatment plants that will use jellyfish bodies to catch microplastics from wastewater to mitigate the effects of human pollution. However, in the process of becoming products for various human uses (filters for wastewater plants, nutrients for agriculture, and even food), the jellyfish are killed. Humans thus seek to provide care for the underwater world by removing plastics, but to do so, they are using the bodies of jellyfish themselves.

Anthropology TodayVol. 41(3)
Openalex Percentile: Top 95%
Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
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