Watsonville activist to start monthlong hunger strike protesting pesticides on farms near schools

When longtime labor leader Dolores Huerta visited Watsonville earlier this year to speak about the harmful effects of pesticides and demand safer farming practices, local activist Omar Dieguez was absorbing her every word. 

Growing up as the son of agriculture laborers in the Pajaro Valley, Dieguez always followed the farmworker movement. Huerta’s speech that early Saturday morning became the catalyst for Dieguez to embark on a new journey in his activism: a 30-day hunger strike.

“Her speech stood out to me,” he said. Huerta had always been an inspiration for the Watsonville native, along with the likes of Cesar Chavez and Luis Valdez, who were major players in the labor and Chicano movements. During that speech, Huerta mentioned that some chemicals used on agriculture fields in the past were developed around World War II, a statement that stunned Dieguez. 

Starting Monday, Dieguez is embarking on a 30-day hunger strike to bring awareness to the harmful effects of pesticides in the Pajaro Valley, and plans to travel around the region to educate the community. He, along with activists from the Watsonville-based Campaign for Organic & Regenerative Agriculture (CORA), are demanding that Driscoll’s — the region’s largest crop grower — convert its fields near schools and residential areas to organic ones. 

Currently, about 20% of Driscoll’s fields are organic, said Adam Scow, CORA organizer and former Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee. The group’s request is “very modest and humble,” he said, and added the company owns many fields near schools and homes in the region that are not organic. 

“Humans have been farming for hundreds, if not thousands of years,” Scow said, adding that it’s possible to grow food and still be profitable without having to severely harm people. “And so, really, that’s the request.”  

A Driscoll’s representative directed Lookout to a statement posted on the company’s website: “We want to assure our local community that the use of pesticides, including their application near schools, is strictly regulated and closely monitored by multiple government agencies. This includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), and the County Agricultural Commissioner’s Offices,” the statement reads.

All of Driscoll’s independent growers are expected and required to follow pesticide regulations. Every pesticide used on the company’s fields is approved by the EPA and CDPR, according to the statement. 

Studies have shown that exposure to pesticides can be linked to cancer, learning disabilities and reproductive health issues. Dieguez recalls a farmworker sharing her story about having part of her stomach removed as a result of pesticide exposure and feeling so affected by her experience. 

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation prohibited pesticide application near schools during school hours in 2018, but, it’s highly likely that those chemicals could drift in the air, reaching those schools, even during weekend applications, said Dieguez. 

The CDPR launched a new program this year that allows residents to sign up for notifications when certain pesticides are being used near their homes or schools, or any location within the state. 

Dieguez told Lookout that he signed up for SprayDays notifications, setting the location for Ohlone Elementary School in Royal Oaks, and could not believe the number of notifications he received. The notifications provide the date and approximate time of when pesticides will be applied to the fields located near the school. It also includes the specific chemical being used. 

“The first one I got was on July 25, and I’ve received like 20 to 30 notifications,” Dieguez said. “So, they’re spraying a lot.” 

Preparing for a hunger strike

Completing a hunger strike was not something Dieguez decided to do on a whim. He was already thinking about doing one before hearing Huerta’s speech earlier this year; the idea just sat in the back of his mind, Dieguez said.

In having conversations with people like Scow and Ann Lopez, founder of the Center for Farmworker Families, about the harms of pesticides, Dieguez said he felt more compelled and committed to the cause.

Dieguez makes it clear that the strike is not about him. It’s to bring awareness to the community — particularly the younger generation — about harms from pesticides. As a youth mentor for local service organization Barrios Unidos, he said, empowering students to stand up for issues they care about and inspire change is at the core of his work. 

“It’s my mission is to go to the students, educate them, empower them, inspire them to rise and make the changes,” he said. One of the reasons Dieguez chose to do the hunger strike in September is because it’s the beginning of the academic year, and kids are ready to absorb information, he said. 

For his strike, Dieguez will be surviving with only water and sage tea. He’s already been fasting a few days at a time for the past few months to allow his body to get used to the feeling of not having food. Dieguez also made sure to visit his doctor, who tried to dissuade him from doing the hunger strike. 

“I didn’t come here to have you talk me out of it,” Dieguez said of what he told the physician. “I’m here for you to tell me how I’m going to survive it.” 

His doctor warned him that the body hits a starvation threshold at 15 to 20 days when it begins to take drastic measures to survive — such as breaking down muscle to obtain protein. The doctor recommended Dieguez put on weight, so that his body eats at the fat first, but he said he’s actually been losing weight during his preparations. 

There’s a mental battle involved in a hunger strike as much as a physical one, said Dieguez. He admits there have been moments during this preparation period when he finds himself doubting his ability and decision to go 30 days without food. 

But in those low moments, Dieguez finds himself leaning on family and community. He also won’t be completely alone in his efforts next month, as other activists are wanting to join him on his strike for a few days, some for all 30. Scow told Lookout that CORA will be sharing the names of those joining Dieguez on Sept. 2. 

‘Not going to be a regular hunger strike’

Rather than staying in one place, as with most hunger strikes, Dieguez is planning to move around the region in hopes of educating the greater community about his strike and, more importantly, the harms of pesticides. 

This ties back with his mission to empower the younger generation, Dieguez said. But he also wants to put as many eyes on the issue as possible. He describes his activism as an “in your face” method, meaning he wants whoever’s in power to feel pressured. 

Dieguez plans to camp out at overpasses on Highway 17, Watsonville’s downtown plaza, schools around the Pajaro Valley and some in Monterey County, he said: “We’re gonna make some noise, and people are gonna talk about it.”

Throughout the 30 days, Dieguez plans to provide updates via his social media pages on how he’s doing and where he’ll be located. He told Lookout that he’s going to have medical personnel check in with him regularly, just in case his health begins to decline and he needs to stop the hunger strike. 

PESTICIDES IN THE PAJARO VALLEY: Read more Lookout news and Community Voices opinion coverage here

Dieguez is optimistic that he’ll be able to complete the 30-day hunger strike, and hopes that his activism educates the community about pesticides and their health impacts. 

“I think that’ll spark something in them to learn more, and hopefully we can get them to participate and join the movement,” he said. “Let’s fight together to end the use of pesticides because it could be done.” 

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