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?
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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 on Energy, Climate change, Environment
Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in Iowa—Iowa Environmental Council
EPA contact in Iowa
Cancer in Iowa—Iowa Cancer Registry
Interactive Iowa Maps—Iowa Cancer Registry
International Study Reveals Glyphosate Weed Killers Cause Multiple Types of Cancer
Stay in the Loop
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Lyrics to Reduce, Reduce, Reduce! by the Weary Ramblers
Pesticides kill things
That’s just what they do
They wouldn’t be good at their job
If they weren’t bad for you
So we need to spray more sparingly
Only what we really need
Listen to Mother Nature
She loves diversity
Got a few weeds?
That’s alright
A little milkweed and some foxtail
Their just fine
If you’re sprayin’
Just to spray
It does more harm than good
It costs more at the end of the day
We gotta’ start doing something…there’s just too much to lose
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce what we use
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce what we use
Don’t plant your crops on the water’s edge
Give ‘em ‘bout fifty feet
On the edge of every field
Go ahead and leave the trees
Doin’ these two things makes for
A Healthier, happy home
For the plants to grow and for the little critters to roam
Got a few weeds?
That’s alright
A little waterhemp and thistles
Their just fine
If you’re sprayin’
Just to spray
It does more harm than good
It costs more at the end of the day
We gotta’ start doing something…there’s just too much to lose
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce what we use
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce what we use
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