Robert J. Lopez, Barbara Davidson and Lorena Iñiguez Elebee have won the December Sidney Award for an investigation that found California is failing to protect underage farmworkers who labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to provide Americans with fresh fruit and vegetables. The Sidney Award is a monthly prize for investigative journalism that exposes social and economic injustices.
The investigation, produced by Capital & Main in partnership with the Los Angeles Times and McGraw Center for Business Journalism, analyzed more than 40,000 state pesticide records and included more than 18 interviews with young farmworkers and their parents. The youths spoke of being exposed to toxic pesticides, dangerous heat and other hazards.
