Brandi Cowen, reporter, co-producer | Cheap Shrimp: Hidden Costs

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Brandi Cowen, reporter, co-producer

Brandi Cowen works as an assistant editor with Bakers Journal and Canadian Pizza, two trade magazines produced by Annex Publishing & Printing. She received her Master of Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia (’10) and also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo (’08). When she isn’t investigating or writing about food, Brandi enjoys eating it.

2006 Labour rights group alleges widespread child labour

2006: The Labour Rights Promotion Organization alleges that as many as 20,000 workers in Samut Sakhon, Thailand’s shrimp processing hub, are under 18 years of age. more

2008 Thailand improves labour laws for Burmese workers

2008: Thailand changes its labour and immigration laws to make its easier for Burmese migrants to get work permits and legal standing. As many as half of Thailand’s Burmese mi more

2010 Thailand found to be a major player in human trafficking

2010: US State Department releases its 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report. Thailand is listed as a “Tier Two Watch List” country, one step above the worst ranking possible in more

2009 First conviction for human trafficking in the Thai shrimp industry

2009: First ever conviction for human trafficking and subsequent forced labour of Burmese migrants in the Thai shrimp industry. The offenders, both Thai, each receive five and e more

2008 Burmese migrant workers suffocate to death

2008: Fifty-four Burmese migrant workers suffocate to death in a container on their way to the south of Thailand, according to the Mekong Migration Network. more

2006 Abused Thai workers rescued from a shrimp factory

2006: Sixty-six workers, mostly Burmese migrants, are rescued from a factory called Ranya Paew in Samut Sakhon province. A report by the Solidarity Centre says workers are fou more

Kate Allen, reporter, co-producer

Kate Allen has worked as a reporter for the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. She has also been published in Toronto Life, the Vancouver Sun, BC Business and the Tyee. She liv more

Sarah Berman, reporter, co-producer

Sarah Berman has many opinions about art, music and society expressed in the pages of Discorder Magazine, Adbusters Magazine, The Block Magazine and Megaphone Magazine. Her short more

Kerry Blackadar, reporter, co-producer

Kerry Blackadar currently works as a freelance reporter with the North Shore News and as a research assistant for a book set to be published by St. Martin's Press. She has previ more

Brandi Cowen, reporter, co-producer

Brandi Cowen works as an assistant editor with Bakers Journal and Canadian Pizza, two trade magazines produced by Annex Publishing & Printing. She received her Master of Journali more

Trisha Sorrells Doyle, producer

Trisha Sorrells Doyle is an Emmy award-winning journalist, freelance producer, and Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Journalism. A Columbia Law School graduate, Trisha bega more

Erin Empey, web developer, co-producer

Erin Empey completed a bachelor's degree in International Relations at UBC before pursuing a journalism degree. She has interned at CBC Radio and Black Press. She can also code W more

Darren Fleet, reporter, co-producer

Darren has worked and volunteered in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Russia. He is currently finishing his Master of Journalism thesis at UBC. His research looks at the relationship more

Aaron Goodman

Aaron Goodman has worked as a video journalist, documentary producer, reporter and professor in North America, Southeast and South Asia for more than ten years. His award-winning more

Alfred Hermida, web supervisor

Alfred Hermida is an Assistant Professor at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism. As a digital media scholar and online news pioneer, his work has appeared in Journalism Practic more

Peter W. Klein, producer

Peter W. Klein is the director of the UBC School of Journalism's International Reporting Program. In 2009 he led a team of students on a global investigation about electronic wa more

Alison Lawton, benefactor

Alison Lawton is an accomplished entrepreneur, financier, social innovator and documentary film producer. She has channeled her passion for social development into the Mindset So more

Rebecca Lindell, reporter, co-producer

Rebecca Lindell is an Ottawa-based journalist. She has reported for the Vancouver Sun, the Globe and Mail and Postmedia News Service. Last year she travelled to Thailand where sh more

Dan McKinney, field producer

Dan McKinney has worked as a cinematographer and producer for nearly a decade. His work for PBS, History Channel and Discovery Channel has taken him around the world. Most recent more

Karen Moxley, reporter, co-producer

Karen Moxley is a graduate of the UBC Graduate School of Journalism. She is currently working for CBC Radio, and has also worked for the Times of India in Bangalore, and for NBC more

Sarah Stenabaugh, reporter, co-producer

Sarah Stenabaugh is a freelance journalist who lives and works in Vancouver. She has worked for Megaphone Magazine and as part of her master’s thesis, Sarah conducted a year-lo more

Alexis Stoymenoff, reporter, co-producer

Alexis Stoymenoff is a freelance journalist and producer based in Vancouver. She graduated with a Master's degree in Journalism from UBC, and has interned and worked as a produc more

Faiza Zia Khan, reporter, co-producer

Faiza Zia Khan is a Vancouver resident and a graduate from the University of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Faiza interned with Global National and is curren more

Magally Zelaya, reporter, co-producer

Magally Zelaya is an emerging journalist currently working as a writer for the CBC Vancouver evening news. Previously, she worked at the CBC London foreign bureau, as part of NBC more

2010 Disease crushing Indonesia’s shrimp industry

2010: 40 percent of Indonesia’s farmed shrimp are killed by Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (IMNV), a virus that prevents shrimp from growing to adult size. Pacific white s more

2006 Pacific White shrimp widely used

2006: Pacific white shrimp, believed to be more disease resistant than black tiger shrimp, become the dominant farmed shrimp species in Thailand, representing 98 percent of th more

2001 Pacific white shrimp in Thailand

2001: Pacific white shrimp, which are native to North America, are introduced into Thailand, in an attempt to replace the disease-prone black tiger shrimp. more

2006 Labor report: Underpaid, overworked & overlooked

2006: The International Labor Organization (ILO) releases a report documenting widespread human rights abuses and human trafficking in the shrimp processing industry. The report more

1997 Industry self-imposes standards

1997: Powerful players in the shrimp industry create the Global Aquaculture Alliance, a consortium that establishes standards on food safety as well as the environmental and s more

2004 Tsunami

2004: A tsunami causes horrific devastation in the Indian Ocean region. In Thailand, between 60 and 70 percent of all shrimp farms in six provinces along Thailand’s Andam more

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