Sofia Gatica, co-founder of the Mothers of Ituzaingó in Argentina, and recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, spent her life in a city surrounded by GMO soybean fields, where farmers used toxic pesticides which directly impact the lives of nearby residents. After experiencing the deadly impacts of the practice, the Mothers of Ituzaingó launched an epidemiological study and found high rates of neurological and respiratory disease, birth defects and infant mortality, and cancer in their area. In 2010, Argentina’s Apex Court ruled that agrochemicals cannot be sprayed near populated areas. Sofia and the group now continue forward in other campaigns to reduce pesticide use and prevent expansion of Monsanto operations in the country. Photo Credit: Goldman Environmental Prize
