The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is letting growers act like entitled neighbors, writes 18-year-old Rocio Ortiz, a rising first-year Cal State Monterey Bay student and founding member of Future Leaders of Change – Watsonville. Ortiz, whose parents picked strawberries for more than 20 years, believes the state should require growers to tell residents exactly when and where pesticides are being applied as part of its notification system. She calls for an “end to pesticide secrecy” and what she sees as racist policies against farmworkers and their families.
