Iowa, Farming and Cancer: What Do We Really Know?

About this episode

This episode explores the relationship between farming chemicals and rising cancer rates in Iowa.

Iowa has a cancer problem. We are one of the only states in the nation with a growing cancer rate, and have higher levels of certain kinds of cancers than do similar areas of the country. Many have put the blame on Iowa’s fields, while others say that legal pesticides are safe for us and the environment. In this episode we go down the rabbit hole to understand—how do chemicals become products on our shelves? Is a legal chemical safe? And what do researchers know about the relationship between chemicals and cancer? Thanks for listening to At the Iowa Farm Table. Please subscribe to receive our podcasts right to your inbox Voices Audrey Tran Lam —Environmental Health Program Director, Center for Energy & Environmental Education, University of Northern Iowa David Cwiertny —Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, University of Iowa Seth Watkins— Pinhook Farm Weary Ramblers— Kathryn Severing Fox and Chad Elliott Resources Higher cancer rates in counties with more CAFOs, study finds U.S. chemical management system must be transformed to prevent harm, argue new policy papers REACH Regulation—European Commission…

People in this episode

Guests: Audrey Tran Lam, David Cwiertny, Seth Watkins

Topics covered

• cancer rates
• agriculture
• chemical safety
• environmental health
• Iowa
• pesticides

Keywords

• cancer
• Iowa
• pesticides
• environmental health
• agriculture
• chemical safety
• CAFOs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for Energy & Environmental Education, University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa, Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Cancer Registry, European Commission

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