Virtual Town Hall: The Fight Against Pesticides

Omar Dieguez, a Brown Beret from Watsonville, is on a 30-day hunger strike to protest pesticide use near schools. He’s joined by Providence Alaniz, a mother whose daughter was exposed at an afterschool program.

They’re speaking out because the science is clear:
👉🏽 Latino children in California are 91% more likely to attend schools near the heaviest pesticide use (CalEPA, 2014).
👉🏽 Pesticides like chlorpyrifos and methyl bromide are linked to brain damage, developmental delays, and childhood cancers (Harvard Chan School, Environmental Health, 2017).
👉🏽 In Watsonville, childhood cancer rates are 36% higher than the state average (CalCAN, 2023).

Joining them:
Dr. Ann Lopez – scholar and founder of Center for Farmworker Families
Yanley Martinez – Organizer for Sage Ag Safe Schools
Sean Dougherty – Candidate for Congress, standing with families, not chemical corporations

📅 Saturday, Sept 13
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Zoom Town Hall

This isn’t just about strawberries. It’s about survival.