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.
A 1930s-era federal agency helped farms recover from an ecological crisis. It's time for a replacement, advocates say
Environment Canada predicts the upcoming decades will transform Canada’s climate, forcing farmers to re-evaluate everything from which seeds to buy to which pastures their livestock graze. That’s a huge challenge for farmers with no time to pore over scientific studies and models charting how the climate crisis will transform their land.
DFO salmon decision shuts hundreds of First Nations out of consultations, experts say
As a child, about 300 wild salmon, carefully packed into a chest freezer after each fishing season, sustained Kukpi7 Judy Wilson and her family for the year ahead. “We had one freezer for salmon, one freezer for wild meat, and my parents had a ranch farm. We were independent,” said Kukpi7 Wilson, now chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
B.C. seed growers reaping sales surge thanks to the pandemic
COVID-19 has had unexpected beneficiaries: B.C.’s small-scale seed growers. The B.C. Eco-Seed Co-op, a co-operative of roughly a dozen seed farmers in the province, saw its sales skyrocket.
First Nations wary of consultation process on Discovery Islands fish farm decision
First Nations are warning Fisheries and Oceans Canada that final decisions around contentious fish farms in the Discovery Islands will have to respect Indigenous rights.
Buying food online? Farmers are paying to make that possible — and it might put them out of business
Walmart is huge. And it's getting bigger. In July, the retailer and grocery chain announced a $3.5-billion expansion into e-commerce. It's an expansion suppliers say they’re forced to pay for — even if it might put them out of business and shake Canada’s food supply chains.
B.C. harvests 196,000 tonnes of fish a year. Most of it is exported and that's a problem, advocates say
James Lawson catches fish. Fish that rarely feed the B.C. coast. He’s not alone: Roughly 85 per cent of seafood caught in the province is exported, yet B.C. fish harvesters can’t get their catch to local markets — and the provincial government is doing little to change that in plans to increase food security post-pandemic.
What will it mean for food industry workers if there's another lockdown?
Lia Moody is worried. Worried about layoffs. Earlier this month, faced with soaring cases of COVID-19, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry mandated the closure of nightclubs and banquet halls, and put additional restrictions on restaurants and bars. It’s the latest hit to an industry still battered by the pandemic — and winter is coming.
Local abattoirs, essential to beef up local meat, can't keep up. So why aren't there more?
Eventually, most B.C. livestock is slaughtered into meat. But where? It’s a question that’s plagued farmers, ranchers, abattoir owners, and B.C. politicians for almost 20 years. A question the pandemic has dramatically thrown into focus.
COVID-19 changed how Canadians eat. But are they wasting less food?
Canadian consumers wasted two kilograms of food a week before the pandemic. Not anymore. That’s according to a survey released earlier this month by Love Food Hate Waste, an international campaign working to reduce household food waste, which found Canadians are wasting less food since the pandemic started.
British Columbians want local meat. Proposed abattoir rule changes might help that
The path from pasture to plate for B.C.’s 22 million farm animals might soon get easier. Earlier this month, the provincial Ministry of Agriculture released an intentions paper outlining proposed changes to slaughter and meat processing regulations. It’s the latest step in a process to make local meat more available — and increase British Columbians’ food security.