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.

272 Articles

Yukon First Nations are leading the way when it comes to school food

For the past several months, well over a thousand Indigenous children in Yukon schools have had access to something many Canadian students do not — an affordable daily lunch at school.

News | October 28th 2022

Meet the unlikely Alberta conservative crusader who says we need limits on big investors buying up farmland

When Alberta MLA Glenn van Dijken tabled a bill last April that would prevent institutional investors from buying up farmland in the province, he knew the move would raise eyebrows. A staunch member of the United Conservative Party and self-proclaimed "free market guy," he was typically loath to regulate a booming industry.

News | October 26th 2022

a woman with a short haircut and blue eyes looks past the camera

How a controversy over GMOs exposed holes in Canada’s lobbying laws

A controversy over an industry lobbyist's input into draft guidelines for genetically modified organisms has exposed gaping loopholes in Canada's lobbying laws, experts say.

The Influencers

News | October 17th 2022

Animal rights activist Amy Soranno at her Aug. 2022 sentencing hearing. Photo by: Jesse Winter/Canada's National Observer

Animal rights activists jailed over sit-in protest at hog farm

Amy Soranno will serve her sentence intermittently and be on probation for 12 months.

News | October 12th 2022

Right-wing populist group fined for ads targeting left-leaning politicians

A B.C. organization partially funded by Lululemon founder and billionaire Chip Wilson and closely linked to some of Canada's most prominent right-wing populist Facebook groups has been fined for violating electoral laws, Elections BC has announced.

News | October 7th 2022

Alberta cows — and their burps — spotlight a loophole in Canada’s methane rule

Methane emitted from burps and manure from about 75,000 cows in a massive Brooks, Alta., feedlot is the 11th highest source of the gas nationwide.

Food Insider

News | October 5th 2022

Investigation reveals Poilievre, populist and pro-natural gas groups spread fertilizer disinformation to whip up outrage against Trudeau

Conservative politicians and advocacy groups linked to Canada's far-right and fossil fuel lobby have been posting erroneous information about the federal government's fertilizer plan, a Canada's National Observer investigation reveals.

The Influencers

News | October 3rd 2022

The fate of your food rests with Canada’s native bees

Industrial farming practices like pesticides can harm native bees, contributing to their global decline. UBC master's student Jennifer Lipka is looking at how to make farms more bee-friendly. The stakes are high: without pollinators, everything from food security to native plants is in danger.

Farming for the future

News | September 26th 2022

Bison on this Prairie farm bring back birds, biodiversity and fewer floods

When a powerful drought fried the fields on Doug Griller's farm last summer, the Manitoba rancher feared they would have trouble bouncing back. A herd of bison helped the recovery exceed expectations.

Farming for the future

News, Climate Solutions Reporting | September 20th 2022

‘It was obviously shocking in the best way possible’: Patagonia pledges profits to the Earth

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has donated the nearly $4-billion company to a specially designed trust and a non-profit dedicated to protecting the environment, a decision designed to help the company put its profits toward environmental advocacy and stay in business.

News | September 16th 2022