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Happy Friday. And welcome back to Cornhole Champions. I'm Zachary Oren Smith. As part of our cancer series, I’m featuring full conversations with folks who got me thinking while writing this series.
Today, we’re talking to Chris Jones about how we built a system that prioritizes big Ag over the common good. Jones spent years studying Iowa's water quality before his work became too politically uncomfortable for some state lawmakers. He's the author of "The Swine Republic" and president of the Driftless Water Defenders.
What emerged was a conversation about what was possible—both literal and political—and what it would take to build something better. Based on the emails and comments you’ve been submitting to me, I think y’all’ve been waiting for this conversation for a long time.
Here are some interesting moments from the conversation.
The chemical cocktail
Jones made a point about how we think about chemical exposure in Iowa. It's not just one pesticide.
"Many times, one thing might not be harmful to us, but in combination with other things, it then does become harmful," Jones said. "We have this cocktail of stuff. We never really know what we're being exposed to."
This includes neonicotinoids—chemicals coating almost all corn and soy seeds. They're showing up everywhere: in Iowa City's drinking water, in ethanol plant discharge, even in remote areas. "This stuff is becoming ubiquitous in the environment," he said.
When weeds fight back
Weeds are getting resistant to glyphosate. A single pigweed plant can produce a million seeds. If just one seed is resistant to herbicide, next year you've got a million herbicide-resistant plants.
So farmers are going back to older, more toxic chemicals like dicamba. The problem? Dicamba drifts. On hot, windy days, it gets blown across Iowa. "Everybody in Iowa now is breathing in this dicamba," Jones said. "What are the health consequences? We don't know."
The sacred cow
Jones argued ethanol exists for one reason: it’s a policy that creates a guaranteed market for corn.
"60% of our corn in Iowa goes to produce ethanol," Jones said. "An area of land the size of 20 counties is growing corn just to produce ethanol. How dumb is that? We get all this water pollution, and perhaps cancer from this production."
Every American born since 1930 has given the government about $1,000 for farm conservation, he said, "and we still have not gotten the environmental outcomes that we want." Instead of spending money on "Band-Aids" for the current system, Jones argued we should help farmers transition to systems that don't pollute in the first place.
You wrote in
This week, I asked: What would it take to make public service attractive to young Iowans if we strip away one of its main benefits?
Sarah from Iowa City: "I'm 24 and just finished my teaching degree. IPERS was honestly part of why I chose this path instead of private sector work. … If that security goes away, I'm not sure Iowa can compete with what I could make elsewhere."
ZOS: We need good teachers now more than ever. Obviously, IPERS isn’t enough—or else the school districts wouldn’t be struggling to recruit new teachers. But benefits like IPERS are part of how we make a case for you to spend time in a classroom right here.
Mike from Des Moines: "I've been a state employee for 15 years. IPERS isn't why I took the job, but it's definitely why I've stayed.”
ZOS: The institutional knowledge angle is huge. When experienced people leave, it's not just about filling positions—it's about losing expertise. That 4-7 year vestment period is a great reason to stick it out…
To everyone who shared their two cents, thanks. I hope you’ll keep engaging with me about these stories.
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Your friendly neighborhood reporter,
Zachary Oren Smith
Political correspondent
Iowa Starting Line
