Activist starts hunger strike to protest harms of pesticide use in Pajaro Valley

KAZU | By Katie Brown

Published September 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM PDT

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7 speakers stand under a black pop-up tent with flags flying from each post. A map colored with red zones indicating pesticide-laden areas is in the center of the photo. — Reverend Julianne Porras-Center leads a Presbyterian congregation in Watsonville and speaks into the microphone at a protest outside Driscoll's headquarters in Watsonville. Omar Dieguez is shown wearing a white shirt in the middle of a group of activists committed to partial or monthlong hunger strikes in solidarity with Dieguez's activism.

In today's newscast, activists concerned with the health consequences of pesticide use in the Pajaro Valley rallied around Omar Dieguez who is leading a monthlong hunger strike.

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Katie Brown

Katie Brown comes to KAZU after earning spot news and investigative journalism awards for her reporting and photography in Maine. A Report for America alumna and former Metcalf Institute fellow, Katie’s reporting beats span business, environment, and public health.

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