SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
The San Joaquin Valley is often referred to as the food basket of the nation, due to its concentration of farming and its massive output of food, such as milk, almonds, walnuts, grapes and strawberries. Surprisingly, most of the people living in these rural communities – mainly low-income communities of color – lack access to fresh produce, while also suffering from negative health effects of intensive agricultural production, including cancer, asthma and developmental issues. Rural communities across the country are founded on inequitable policies, economies and cultures that are racially motivated and have been greatly influential in the foundations of our country. Environmentally speaking, large scale, industrial agricultural production has contributed to the Central Valley having the worst air quality in the country as well as major water safety issues.
Pesticides sprayed on crops contribute to both air pollution in the region as well as harming the health of farmworkers and nearby residents. Industrial dairies emit mass amounts of short-lived climate pollutants that contribute to global warming and pollute the groundwater.
CRPE engages in developing sustainable agricultural in the San Joaquin Valley by tackling the key issues of pesticides, industrial dairies and food access through the lens of racial and economic justice. Our goal is to create healthier communities in California and be a model of a region where just rural policies benefit everyone.
PESTICIDES
Pesticides have an especially harmful effect on farmworkers, but also on nearby communities due to pesticide drift. Exposure to pesticides has been linked to ....
DAIRIES
California’s industrial-style, factory farm dairy industry began a rapid expansion in the 1990s and now is one of the leading air, climate, and groundwater polluters...