Expensive Reader,
In 2020, I traveled to rural Iowa to report on the fast growth of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Many residents had been involved about air pollution from the large CAFOs cropping up alongside their houses and streams. However on the time they had been a vocal minority, and a few of them didn’t hyperlink political management to the issue.
That’s altering. This 12 months was a foul one for nitrate ranges within the state’s water. New studies on rising most cancers charges have shaken residents. And broader consideration is being paid to pesticide publicity.
As consequential midterm elections strategy, the long-held established order—the place multinational agricultural companies form each how Iowa farms and the way it governs—may shift.
This week, we’re reporting on that second from two instructions. Contributor Leah McBride Mensching delivers an on-the-ground report on agricultural water contamination and the way it’s driving voter sentiment and candidates’ positions. And I report on Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn’s previous affiliations, together with connections to the household behind Koch Industries, that are prompting skepticism about his guarantees to face as much as business.
