Dr. Chris Rosin has been at CSAFE since 2004, first arriving as a post-doctoral fellow in the Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability (ARGOS) project. Prior to his fellowship position, Chris trained as a geographer (using a political ecology approach). He completed masters research with smallholders in Costa Rica during the global coffee crisis of the early 1990s and later completed doctoral research in Brazil and Paraguay on smallholder response to the formation of the MERCOSUR customs union. Chris's early focus on land managers? responses to economic change and its impacts on human-environment relationships remains an important aspect of his research on sustainable agriculture in New Zealand.

As part of Chris's involvement in the ARGOS and Biological Economies projects, he examines the social negotiation of sustainability in agriculture, including the processes through which concerns about and claimed achievements in social and environmental impacts of agricultural practice are communicated and legitimised within global food systems. This work incorporates insights from conventional theory and political philosophies of utopia, and involves four specific entry points: 1) the role of audit cultures and best practice; 2) the ethical implications of redefining good practice and the relationship to utopian framings of agricultural practice; 3) the efforts to enact new values in the rural economy through branding, provenance claims and alternative products/services/practices; and 4) the impact of the emissions trading scheme on farming identity of New Zealand pastoral farmers.

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Current & Recent Research Projects

• Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability: Social Objective and Extensions 2.1 & 2.2
• Biological Economies: Knowing and making new value relations

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Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Campbell, H., C. Rosin, L. Hunt and J. Fairweather. submitted. The Social Practice of Sustainable Agriculture under Audit Discipline: Initial Insights from the ARGOS Project in New Zealand. Journal of Rural Studies.

Campbell, H. and C. Rosin. in press. After the ?Organic Industrial Complex?: An ontological expedition through commercial organic agriculture in New Zealand. Journal of Rural Studies,

Fairweather, J., C. Rosin, L. Hunt and H. Campbell. 2009. 'Are conventional farmers conventional? Analysis of the environmental orientation of conventional New Zealand farmers'. Rural Sociology 74: 430-454.

Rosin, C. and H. Campbell.  2009. 'Beyond bifurcation: examining the conventions of organic agriculture in New Zealand'.  Journal of Rural Studies 25: 35-47.

Rosin, C. 2008. The conventions of agri-environmental practice in New Zealand: farmers, retail driven audit schemes and a new Spirit of Farming.  GeoJournal 73:45-54.

Moller, H., C. MacLeod, J. Haggerty, C. Rosin, G. Blackwell, C. Perley, S. Meadows, and F. Weller.  2008.  'Intensification of New Zealand agriculture: implications for biodiversity'.  New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 51:253-263.

Benge, J., H. Moller, M. Emanuellson, C. Rosin, J. Fairweather, L. Hunt, A. Barber, and J. Manhire.  2005.  Enhancing kiwifruit sustainability ? early results from Argos.  Kiwifruit: New Zealand Kiwifruit Journal Nov/Dec: 25-29.

 

Books

Rosin, C., P. Stock, and H. Campbell (eds). in press. Food Systems Failure: The Global Food Crisis and the Future of Agriculture. London: Earthscan.

 

Book Chapters

Campbell, H., C. Rosin, S. Norton, P. Carey, J. Benge and H. Moller. 2010.Examining the mythologies of organics: moving beyond the organic/conventional binary? In Lawrence, G., Lyons, K. and Wallington, T. (eds.) Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability.  London: Earthscan. pp. 238-251.

Rosin, C.  2008. 'Changing rules of exchange: conventions and the role of producers in the MERCOSUR yerba mate market'.  In Stringer, C. and Le Heron, R. (eds.) Agri-food Commodity Chains and Globalising Networks. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp. 49-60.

Rosin, C., H. Campbell, L. Hunt.  2008. 'Audit Me This! Orchard-Level Effects of the EurepGAP Audit System on New Zealand Kiwifruit Producers'.  In Stringer, C. and Le Heron, R. (eds.) Agri-food Commodity Chains and Globalising Networks. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp. 61-74.

Campbell, H. and C. Rosin. 2008. Global retailer politics and the quality shift in New Zealand horticulture. In, Butcher, M. R., Walker, J. T. S. and Zydenbos, S. M. (eds.) Future Challenges in Crop Protection: Repositioning New Zealand?s Primary Industries Hastings: New Zealand Plant Protection Society Inc. pp. 11-26.

Rosin, C.  2007. 'Justifying the 'alternative': renegotiating conventions in the yerba mate network'.  In D. Maye, L. Holloway and M. Kneafsey (eds.) Constructing ?Alternative? Food Geographies: Representation and Practice.  Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp. 115-132.

Hunt, L., and C. Rosin. 2007. The active kiwifruit orchard: orchard/orchardist interaction. In VI International Symposium on Kiwifruit, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 753, edited by A. R. Ferguson, E. W. Hewett, F. A. Gunson and C. N. Hale. Rotorua, New Zealand: International Society for Horticultural Science.  pp. 575-582.

Moller, H., A. Wearing, C. Perley, C. Rosin, G. Blackwell, H. Campbell, L. Hunt, J. Fairweather, J. Manhire, J. Benge, M. Emanuelsson, and D. Steven. 2007. Biodiversity on kiwifruit orchards: the importance of shelterbelts. In VI International Symposium on Kiwifruit, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 753, edited by A. R. Ferguson, E. W. Hewett, F. A. Gunson and C. N. Hale. Rotorua, New Zealand: International Society for Horticultural Science. pp. 609-618.

Rate, S., C. Rosin, G. Blackwell, H. Moller, and L. Hunt. 2007. Diversity and abundance of birds in New Zealand kiwifruit orchards. In VI International Symposium on Kiwifruit, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 753, edited by A. R. Ferguson, E. W. Hewett, F. A. Gunson and C. N. Hale. Rotorua, New Zealand: International Society for Horticultural Science. pp. 619-626.

Campbell, H., C. McLeod, C. Rosin. 2006. 'Auditing Sustainability: The Impact of EUREP-GAP on Organic Exporting From New Zealand.' In Holt, G. and Reed, M. (eds.) Organic Agriculture: A Sociological Perspective. Wallingford: CABI. pp. 157-173.

 

Forum Articles

Campbell, H., Burton, R., Cooper, M., Henry, M., Le Heron, E., Le Heron, R., Lewis, N., Pawson, E., Perkins, H., Roche, M., Rosin, C. and White, T. In Press. 'From  Agricultural Science to 'Biological Economies'?', New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research Vol 52, March 2009.

Rosin, C., C. Perley, H. Moller and K. Dixon. 2008. For wont of the social, was the biodiversity battle lost?  On the need to approach social-ecological resilience through transdisciplinary research. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 51: 481-484.

Meadows S., M. Gradwohl, H. Moller, C. Rosin, C. J. MacLeod, F. Weller, G. Blackwell and C. Perley. 2008. Pathways for integration of biodiversity conservation into New Zealand's agricultural production. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 51: 467-471.

Moller H., Blackwell G., Weller F., MacLeod C. J., Rosin C., Gradwohl M., Meadows S. and Perley C. (2008) Social-ecological scales and sites of action: keys to conserving biodiversity while intensifying New Zealand?s agriculture? New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 51: 461-465.

 

Reports

Rosin, C., L. Hunt, J. Fairweather and H. Campbell.  2010.  Social objective synthesis report 2: social differentiation and choice of management system among ARGOS farmers/orchardists.  ARGOS Research Report No. 10/03.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Cooper, M., H. Campbell, J. Manhire, H. Moller, C. Rosin, S. Norton and L. Hunt. 2009. New Zealand organic sector report. CSAFE Report, prepared for Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ).

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, C. Rosin, H. Moller and S. Norton. 2009. New Zealand farmer attitude and opinion survey 2008: management systems and farming sustainability. ARGOS Research Report No. 09/03.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, J. Benge, H. Campbell, G. Greer, D. Lucock, J. Manhire, S. Meadows, H. Moller, C. Rosin, C. Saunders and Y. Fukuda. 2009. New Zealand farmer and orchardist attitude and opinion survey 2008: characteristics of organic, modified conventional (integrated) and organic management and of the sheep/ beef, horticulture and dairy sectors. ARGOS Research Report No. 09/02.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, C. Rosin, J. Benge and H. Campbell. 2009. Kiwifruit causal mapping in 2008: comparisons to 2005 and to other sectors. ARGOS Research Report No. 09/01.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Rosin, C., M. Cooper, A. MacKenzie and T. Maegli.  2008.  New Zealand pastoral farmers and the mitigation of greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector.  Report prepared for Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.  27 pp.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, D. Lucock and C. Rosin. 2008. Causal mapping of ARGOS high country farms and comparisons to sheep/beef and dairy farms. ARGOS Research Report No. 08/02.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, C. Rosin and H. Campbell. 2008. Causal mapping of ARGOS dairy farms and comparisons to sheep/beef farms. ARGOS Research Report No. 08/01.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Rosin, C., L. Hunt, J. Fairweather, and H. Campbell.  2007.  Social objective synthesis report: differentiation among participant farmers/orchardists in the ARGOS research programme.  ARGOS Research Report No. 07/13.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Rosin, C., L. Hunt, H. Campbell and J. Fairweather.  2007.  There are Audits, and There are Audits: Response of New Zealand Kiwifruit Orchardists to the Implementation of Supermarket Initiated Audit Schemes.  ARGOS Research Report No. 07/06.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Rosin, C., L. Hunt, H. Campbell and J. Fairweather.  2007.  Becoming the Audited: Response of New Zealand Sheep/Beef Farmers to the Introduction of Supermarket Initiated Audit Scheme.  ARGOS Research Report No. 07/05.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, A. Cook, C. Rosin and H. Campbell.  2007.  The Representa-tiveness of ARGOS Panels and Between Panel Comparison.  ARGOS Research Report No. 07/03.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, C. Rosin, H. Campbell and D. Lucock.  2007.  Understanding sheep/beef farm management using causal mapping: development and application of a two-stage approach.  ARGOS Research Report No. 07/02.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Rosin, C. and J. Grice. 2006. Beyond weeds, disease, and soil fertility: Challenges to promotion of alternative management in the New Zealand dairy sector.  ARGOS Industry Report.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

McLeod, C., L. Hunt, C. Rosin, J. Fairweather, A. Cook and H. Campbell.  2006.  New Zealand Farmers and Wetlands.  ARGOS Research Report No. 06/10.  Christ-church: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability. 

Fairweather, J., L. Hunt, C. Rosin, H. Campbell, J. Benge and M. Watts.  2006.  Understanding kiwifruit management using causal mapping.  ARGOS Research Report No. 06/09.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Hill, R.; Moller, H.; Lucock, D.; Hunt, L.; Manhire, J.; Emanuelsson, M.; Rosin, C. 2006. A survey of weed management on South Island sheep/beef farms. ARGOS Research Report No. 06/02. Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Hunt, L., C. Rosin, M. Read, J. Fairweather and H. Campbell. 2006. Understanding Approaches to Sheep/Beef Production in New Zealand: Report on First Qualitative Interviews of ARGOS Sheep/Beef Participants. ARGOS Research Report No. 06/01. Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Hunt, L., C. Rosin, C. McLeod, M. Read, J. Fairweather and H. Campbell. 2005. Understanding Approaches to Kiwifruit Production in New Zealand: Report on First Qualitative Interviews of ARGOS Kiwifruit Participants. ARGOS Research Report No. 05/01.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Campbell, H., J. Fairweather, L. Hunt, C. McLeod, and C. Rosin.  2004.  Social Research Compendium: Key Questions on Social Dimensions of Agricultural Sustainability. ARGOS Working Paper No. 2.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.

Campbell, H., J. Fairweather, L. Hunt, C. McLeod, and C. Rosin.  2004.  Social Dimensions of Sustainable Agriculture: A Rationale for Social Research in ARGOS.  ARGOS Working Paper No. 1.  Christchurch: Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability.