Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

Omar Dieguez’s heroic hunger strike dramatized, agonizingly, the need to stop using pesticides near schools.  

Lookout wrote that although Dieguez completed “all of the district’s requirements, the school still canceled Dieguez’s presentation. [Pajaro Valley Unified School District] spokesperson Alejandro Chavez told Lookout that administrators and district officials are not trying to prevent or block Dieguez from speaking at schools, rather they are simply following district policy regarding controversial topics.”  

The finding that pesticides are not good for human beings truly is not controversial. Science has shown it.  Researchers at UCLA and Harvard University have identified 10 pesticides that significantly damaged neurons implicated in the development of Parkinson’s disease, providing new clues about environmental toxins’ role in the disease. We don’t know which neurotoxins are the worst, but we know they are bad. Just in California, we have nearly 14,000 pesticide products with over 1,000 active ingredients registered for use.

Those most at risk are our farmworkers, who are exposed to these dangerous chemicals on a daily basis, increasing the risk of developing conditions like leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, brain cancer and, of course, Parkinson’s. Of all farmworkers, those who work in berries — Driscoll’s is the world’s largest producer of all types of berries — are most at risk.

Berries are in the “dirty dozen,” being more susceptible to pesticide absorption than many other types of produce. This higher susceptibility is due to a combination of their delicate skin, porous surface and growing habits.

Driscoll’s, you would be doing a very fine thing if you voluntarily chose to stop using pesticides on all of your produce. Is the fact that it costs more to send organic produce to market than “conventional” reason enough to continue this harmful practice? Does the fact that “most” growers continue with this harmful practice justify continuing?  

Would not converting to all-organic bring down the prices of your products as the costs average out? Please consider the health of all your employees and your customers and stop using pesticides. 

Susan Brouwer

Santa Cruz