In Iowa, the number of animals packed into factory farms produce as much waste as 168 million people, or 53 times that of our state’s population — that’s 53 times. Manure waste is housed in giant lagoons that sometimes flood, and that, along with the applied nitrate run-off from the fields, caused Des Moines to build the largest municipal water treatment plant in the world just so city residents can drink water from their faucets. Guess who pays?

This doesn’t account for all the air pollution created by factory farms. It’s now revealed that thousands of deaths are caused in areas located near factory farms in this country — even more than from coal pollution.

But doesn’t the EPA address these hazards? Not for Big Ag. During Trump’s administration, the EPA even exempted factory farms from reporting requirements regarding the release of ammonias and other toxic emissions as required of other industries. State agencies are little more effective under pressure from political leaders, and Big Ag responds to state regulatory queries with a claim of a clean bill of health from local authorities supporting Big Money.

Iowans don’t need more factory farms. We need to get rid of a bunch that are already here.