Marc Fawcett-Atkinson

Reporter Vancouver English

food security, Agriculture, fishing, toxins, shell fish industry, farming, climate change

About Marc Fawcett-Atkinson

Marc Fawcett-Atkinson is a reporter and writer covering food, climate, plastics and the environment for Canada’s National Observer.

His ongoing investigations of the plastic industry in Canada won him a nomination from the Webster Awards this year in environmental reporting.

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.

Marc's reporting on food security and agriculture is highly valued by farmers and the academics who study agriculture as unique in Canada.

243 Articles

High food prices are making it harder for Bellanov Macaen to help his father, Bernold, who lives in Haiti, where gang violence has made it unsafe for him to work. Photo by Bellanov Macaen

As food prices climb, some Canadians juggle feeding themselves and supporting family abroad

Nearly 15 per cent of Canadian residents send money to relatives abroad each year. Climbing food prices are making it harder to send enough home.

Food Insider

News | August 9th 2022

Elaine Chu is determined to make the food at B.C.'s Royal Columbian Hospital more sustainable — and tasty. Photo provided by Elaine Chu

Why this hospital is putting more plants on the menu

Health care is responsible for about 4.6 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, and many of these emissions can be traced back to waste from food and a reliance on single-use plastic items, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Food Insider

News | August 5th 2022

Big Plastic suing feds over single-use ban — again

Several major plastic manufacturers have turned to the courts to stop the federal government from implementing a ban on several single-use plastic items.

Canada's plastics problem

News | July 29th 2022

Why your mac and cheese is way more expensive than last year

The average price of food has soared by 8.8 per cent, forcing about a quarter of Canadians to cut back on their grocery bills in an effort to adapt, StatCan reports. But those increases haven't been equally distributed, with the price of some foods spiking nearly twice as much as others.

Food Insider

News, Food Insider | July 28th 2022

Squeezed by housing crisis, Ontario farmland becomes dangerously rare

Real estate prices have soared across Canada in recent years, and farmland is no different. From B.C. to the Maritimes, farmland near urban centres is being eyed by developers seeking to turn fields into suburban malls and cul-de-sacs.

Food Insider

News | July 26th 2022

Meet the dogs sniffing stinky mussels for work, not play

Zebra and quagga mussels are small freshwater mussels originally from the Black and Caspian seas. The invasive mussels can transform aquatic food chains and grow in thick carpets that can clog farm irrigation lines, hydropower dams and municipal waterworks. Keeping them out of B.C. is a full-time job for two dedicated dogs.

Food Insider

News | July 18th 2022

The meeting that could be Canada’s last chance to curb farm emissions

A meeting of Canada's agriculture ministers later this month could be pivotal in the fight against climate change, according to a national coalition of farmers.

Food Insider

Explainer, Climate Solutions Reporting | July 13th 2022

Nitrogen fertilizers are the second-largest source of greenhouse gases from food, just behind meat. But environmentalists warn plastic-coated fertilizers pitched as a solution could make things worse. Photo by Jesse Winter/Canada's National Observer

How Canada’s plan to curb farm emissions could make plastic pollution worse

Environmentalists are warning that slow-release nitrogen fertilizers, central to Canada's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farms, are filling fields with microscopic plastic pollution.

Food Insider

News, Climate Solutions Reporting | July 5th 2022

Dog photos and veiled threats: How Canada’s fertilizer lobby is fighting against climate laws

In December 2020, the government challenged Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau's ministry to reduce emissions from artificial nitrogen fertilizers by 30 per cent by 2030. Soon after, Canada's $23-billion fertilizer industry jumped into action to make sure the new rules won't hurt its bottom line.

The Influencers

Investigations, Food Insider | July 4th 2022

Why this Quebec farmer is growing seeds for ‘resilience’

As global supply chains continue to struggle, food prices surge, and climate change threatens the world's farmland with droughts or floods, some farmers say that locally grown seeds are key to making Canada's food supplies more sustainable.

Food Insider

News, Climate Solutions Reporting | June 8th 2022