SALINAS >> Watsonville activist Omar Dieguez finished a 30-day hunger strike against pesticides Tuesday, marking the final day of the protest by attending a Safe Ag Safe Schools rally in Salinas. Dieguez, 48, made it to the finish line after a brief hospitalization on Sept. 26 following severe stomach pains, where he was administered an IV and then released.

“The mission was accomplished on bringing awareness to the problem of pesticides,” Dieguez said at the rally, adding that he was relieved to be done with the fast and would spend the next week recovering before considering his next steps. Dieguez said he lost 26 pounds in the 30 days and was one pound shy of a threshold that his doctor said would be a dangerous weight.

About 20 people attended the rally that was meant to draw attention to a new study that examined pregnant residents’ proximity to some pesticides in California.

Several pesticide activists, nurses and a former senator spoke at the event. Providence Martinez Alaniz was also in attendance. She fasted alongside Dieguez for 18 days before being hospitalized and ending her fast.

The main goals of the fast were to educate residents on the potential effects of pesticide exposure and to pressure local berry growers to transition fields near schools to organic farming practices. While state law prevents the use of pesticides within a quarter mile of schools, gaseous pesticides can drift for miles on the wind.