PAJARO VALLEY—About 50 people gathered Sunday in Watsonville’s community room to explore ways to phase out toxic farming chemicals and convert Pajaro Valley farmlands to organic and regenerative farming.
The group of speakers included farmers, farmworkers, doctors, retired teachers, experts in environmental health and justice and others.
The forum was hosted by the Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture (CORA), a newly-formed group with the vision of reducing the use of harmful agricultural chemicals in Santa Cruz County.
The speakers covered topics such as a UC Berkeley study of children exposed to organophosphate pesticides in utero for 20 years in and around Salinas, which showed long-term behavioral and health impacts.
Speakers also discussed a recent UCLA study that found correlations between several types of early childhood cancers and specific pesticides applied up to 2.5 miles from the mother’s residence at time of birth.
Retired Pajaro Valley Unified School District nurse Kathleen Kilpatrick—who has years of experience in health and environmental justice work—showed maps of the Pajaro Valley and surrounding region, which highlighted areas of higher use of various types of pesticides. These included fields adjacent to the neighborhood where she lives, and many of PVUSD’s schools.
Woody Rehanek, a former farmer, farmworker and retired special education teacher, says that shortfalls in Watsonville’s climate action plan could be addressed by supporting the conversion of local farmland to more regenerative practices that drawdown and hold carbon in the soil, as well as enhancing its fertility and moisture retention.
Ernestina Solorio, who worked 20 years in agricultural fields, said her youngest two kids were born after she began agricultural work, and both have learning disabilities requiring special education and medication.
“No pregnant woman should be exposed to pesticides,” Solorio said through a translator.
UC Cooperative Extension Organic Production Specialist Dr. Joji Muramoto said that California is the top nationwide producer of organic fruits and vegetables.
About 4.7% of farms in the state are certified organic, he says, although that rises to 18% in Santa Cruz County, the highest percentage in the state, while Monterey County is at 16%.
“We have to educate ourselves and we have to understand who the growers are, who the farmers are,” said Javier Zamora, owner of JSM Organic Farms. “We have to be more in balance with Mother Nature.”
CORA is building a website and plans future events. Currently, information can be found at farmworkerfamily.org. A link will be available to video and slideshows from Sunday’s forum, as well as a petition encouraging local and state officials to expedite conversion to organic and regenerative practices. Anyone with questions regarding toxicity, decontamination, management and reporting issues can call the Poison Control center at 800-222-1222.
