Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Journalist | Vancouver |
English
French
About Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Marc Fawcett-Atkinson is a reporter and writer covering food systems, climate, disinformation, and plastics and the environment for Canada’s National Observer.
His ongoing investigations of the plastic industry in Canada won him a Webster Award's nomination in environmental reporting in 2021. He was also a nominee for a Canadian Association of Journalists's award for his reporting on disinformation.
Marc has previously written for High Country News, the Literary Review of Canada, and other publications on topics exploring relationships between people and their social and physical environments.
He holds an M.A. in journalism from the University of British Columbia and a B.A. in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic.
Meet the Ukrainian scientists making farms sustainable from space
Around midafternoon in Kyiv on Jan. 3, Oleksandr Dzhevaga watched from his computer as a rocket blasted through the sky. Although Dzhevaga lives in Ukraine, the rocket had nothing to do with Russia's war against the country. It was taking off from Florida, and onboard was a satellite custom-made to monitor the sustainability of millions of hectares of crops and forests worldwide.
‘Better is always possible,’ Canada’s agriculture minister says, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to curbing climate pollution from farms
Several times last year, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau found herself stomping through fields talking to farmers dealing with unprecedented floods, drought and hurricanes. The disasters were an "eye-opener" for many, hinting at a future where the climate crisis will make similar disasters more common — and worse.
B.C. needs fire. Meet the man bringing it back
Skeetchestn fire keeper Joe Gilchrist is on a mission to make the regenerative burning practices his grandfather taught him commonplace. At stake is an important practice for culture, food security and the future of B.C.'s forests.
The mystery of the dead apple trees
Adrian Arts’ apple trees were dying. But despite Arts’ best efforts — extra watering and tender care — nearly half the trees in the Okanagan farmer's orchard died two weeks later, just as they were starting to fruit. He had no idea why.
The top three things you can eat to save the planet — and your wallet
Replacing meat and dairy with plants can almost halve your environmental footprint and leave more money in your wallet. That's important when prices are on the rise: food costs grew more than 10 per cent in August, September and October of this year.
Farmers are losing the ‘arms race’ against weeds
Intensive farming is creating new super weeds that are nearly impossible to kill with herbicides. Already infamous for their impact on everything from water quality to biodiversity, the intensive approach to agriculture is making it even harder for farmers to protect their crops — and bottom lines — from tsunamis of harmful weeds, a new study suggests.
Turkey, stuffing and a side of pollution
Environmental scientist Thomas Elliot is calling on Canadians to cut back on the Christmas pork and turkey for the sake of the climate.
First Nation reclaims traditional territory with help from a B.C. geologist
For the first time in over 100 years, Kukpi7 (Chief) Hillary Adam of the Stswecem'c Xget'tem First Nation can now walk freely across a vast swath of his people's traditional territory.
How a Canadian farmer partnered with ‘a force in the universe’ to save his family’s land
As countries gather in Montreal to hammer out a new deal to protect global biodiversity, farms like the Coens' could offer a blueprint for how we produce food in the future. Agriculture is the largest driver of biodiversity loss worldwide, with farming identified by the United Nations as a threat to 86 per cent of species at risk of extinction.
Poilievre’s pasta politics are flawed
Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre is now jumping into the politics of pasta disinformation.