TIME | 7 May 2009, 4pm onwards
LOCATION | Seminar Room, Centre for Innovation, 87 St. David St.
SPEAKER | Rebecca L. Schewe
Within the context of free-market ideology now dominating the global political economy, market-based standards and third-party certifications – many with an explicitly environmental focus - have become prominent. In particular, global agrofood markets are now policed by a variety of non-governmental certifiers and standards such as organic and fair-trade certifications. These standards and certifications are highly variable in their structures, levels of compliance, and market recognition, as well as their impacts on everyday environmental management of farms. This talk draws upon interviews with certifiers and farmers to compare different organic and conventional environmental certifications used within New Zealand’s booming dairy industry.
Becky Schewe is a visiting PhD student from the Departments of Rural Sociology and Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This talk will be based on the preliminary findings of Becky’s dissertation examining private environmental management standards and certifications within the New Zealand dairy industry. She arrived in New Zealand in August 2008 and will return to Wisconsin in July 2009 to complete her degree.