NOTE: See also the video: 2012 Goldman Prize Winner for South and Central
America: Sofia Gatica
http://youtu.be/eHHS45AJsoI!
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Mother takes on Monsanto, wins global prize
Kristin Schafer
http://www.momsrising.org/blog/mother-takes-on-monsanto-wins-global-prize
Hats off to this mother of three who got fed up and took charge. Thirteen years
ago, Sofía Gatica's newborn died of kidney failure after being exposed to
pesticides in the womb. After the despair came anger, then a fierce
determination to protect the children in her community and beyond.
Today, she's one of six grassroots leaders from around the world receiving the
Goldman Environmental Prize, in recognition of her courageous - and successful -
efforts.
We at Pesticide Action Network are deeply honored to host Sofía as she travels
to San Francisco for tonight's ceremony and celebration. And personally, I look
forward to meeting a mom with the chutzpa to take on Monsanto to protect her
children.
Pesticides drift from GE soy fields
Sofía lives in Ituzaingó Annex, a working-class neighborhood of 6,000 bordering
commercial soy farms in the province of Córdoba in Argentina.Sofia Gatica, 2012
Goldman Award
Argentina is the third largest exporter of soybeans in the world. It is also the
third largest producer of genetically engineered (GE) crops worldwide, following
closely behind the U.S. and neighboring Brazil. The explosion of GE soy
production in Argentina has brought with it dramatic increases in pesticide use,
and specifically aerial spraying of Monsanto's weedkiller, RoundUp. Spraying of
the antiquated insecticide endosulfan was also common until this year. Its use
is now banned in Argentina as it moves toward a global phaseout under the
Stockholm treaty.
RoundUp, long touted by Monsanto as all but harmless, has recently been linked
to increased risk of birth defects when mothers are exposed during pregnancy.
http://www.panna.org/blog/chemical-trespass-roundingup-birth-defects
Endosulfan has also been linked to health harms in children, including birth
defects, reproductive harm and autism.
Local mothers take charge
Here's where Sofía's story becomes truly inspirational.
After she lost her newborn, she realized that such losses were all too common in
her small community. Building on Argentina's powerful history of movements led
by mothers, Sofía worked with other concerned moms to go door to door collecting
stories about health problems in each family - essentially conducting the
community's first-ever epidemiological study.
"The Mothers of Ituzaingó" discovered the community's cancer rate to be 41 times
the national average. Rates of neurological problems, respiratory diseases and
infant mortality were also astonishingly high.
The group then launched a "Stop the Spraying!" campaign, leading demonstrations
and publishing materials warning the community about the dangers of pesticides.
Their efforts bore fruit. In 2008, Argentina's president ordered an
investigation of the health impacts of pesticides in Ituzaingó Annex; the
resulting official study corroborated the informal door-to-door research. Sofía
and the Mothers of Ituzaingó then won a municipal "buffer zone" ordinance,
prohibiting aerial spraying less than 2,500 meters from homes.
Each year since 1989, the Goldman Prize has honored grassroots leaders across
the globe, unsung heroes who are campaigning for environmental justice and
sustainability in their local communities. This global recognition of Sofia's
work couldn't be more deserved.
Sofia Gatica, 2012 Goldman AwardDespite few resources and very real threats -
including being held at gunpoint in her own home - Sofía led the Mothers of
Ituzaingó to concrete victory: on-the-ground protections for the children in
their community. The group also raised the profile of the broader issue of the
health harms of pesticides to the national level, making room for a push for
safer and more sustainable approaches to agriculture.
Sofía is now working with mothers in other Argentine communities, looking for
ways to expand protections to families across the country. We at PAN salute her
commitment, dedication and creativity, and congratulate her for the well
deserved international recognition of today's Goldman Prize.
http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/sofia-gatica
* * * * *
Kristin is Senior Policy Strategist with Pesticide Action Network, based in San
Francisco. She has worked on pesticide, toxics and sustainable agriculture
issues for the past 20 years, including 2 years in Kenya. She loves to garden,
play at the beach, and ride her road bike. She lives in San Jose with her
husband and two children.
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