Our Water. Our Farms. Their Profit.

Imagine stepping outside on a summer morning and gagging on the stench of ammonia and manure in the air. Imagine telling your kids not to swim in the creek they grew up next to, or learning your family’s drinking water has tested positive for toxic levels of nitrate. Then imagine being told by politicians in the state capital that everything is just fine.

This isn’t a nightmare. It’s been Iowa’s reality for many years. And if we don’t act soon, it will become a reality in Missouri.

Just across Missouri’s northern border, Iowa has been overrun by more than 4,000 concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), up from 789 in 1990. These industrial-scale livestock facilities, which keep cows, hogs, and chickens confined in small areas on factory floors, now produce as much waste as half the U.S. human population. Unlike human waste, however, CAFO waste isn’t treated. It consists of raw sewage, which is dumped onto fields, where it runs off into streams and sinks into the groundwater. In some Iowa communities, the nitrate levels in drinking water are so high that families are forced to rely on bottled water. It is estimated that Iowans will pay up to $333 million over the next five years to remove nitrates from drinking water. That’s as much as $1,200 per person per year. That’s a tax on every citizen that CAFOs don’t pay; rather, they make the people pay for it.

Why go through all this trouble to remove contaminants? Consider that nitrate in drinking water can cause blue-baby syndrome, birth defects, bladder cancer, thyroid cancer, and other cancers. Furthermore, manure runoff from CAFOs into local water sources promotes the growth of harmful algae blooms, leading to illnesses in both animals and humans, including liver damage, neurological damage, gastrointestinal problems, and various flu-like symptoms. Manure can also contaminate surface water and groundwater with fecal bacteria, which can cause gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses. The corporations that operate the CAFOs are not responsible for covering the costs of removing contaminants from their operations; that burden falls on each Iowan to pay. And they will pay, with both their money and their health.

What’s happening in Iowa isn’t just a water problem. It’s a warning. When lakes and rivers are polluted, fishing dies. Tourism fades. Kayaking, swimming, and even simple hikes through the woods lose their appeal. These are not luxuries; they’re part of what makes life rich and joyful for everyone. When you destroy clean water, you destroy a way of life.

Also, consider the humanitarian cost. In these massive industrial operations, animals are crammed by the thousands into tight, airless spaces. They live and die without ever setting foot outside. This level of cruelty should offend any decent person. It’s not farming; it’s an assembly line for suffering.

And don’t buy into the CAFO corporations’ claims about “creating jobs.” They want you to believe that a few low-wage, high-risk positions are worth more than the thousands of independent farmers who raise animals humanely, care for the land, and support our rural economy. These independent farmers are being undercut by corporate giants flooding the market with cheap, low-quality products. It’s not a fair fight; the system is rigged, and families are losing everything—not because they failed, but because they were sacrificed. Trading thousands of livelihoods for a handful of bad jobs isn’t economic development. It’s a betrayal.

Speaking of a rigged system, in Missouri, it’s been rigged for over a decade, opening the door to create an environmental disaster just like our neighbors to the north. And who rigged it? Look no further than the Missouri Legislature, controlled by Republicans for over two decades. Under their watch, one law after another has stripped power from local communities and handed it to corporate agriculture.

In 2013, the Missouri Legislature allowed foreign corporations to purchase Missouri farmland, enabling conglomerates like Smithfield Foods, which is owned by a Chinese firm, to move in and take control. In 2014, they passed a so-called “Right-to-Farm” amendment, granting constitutional protection to industrial agriculture. And to make matters worse, in 2019, they enacted Senate Bill 391, stripping counties of their right to regulate CAFOs, effectively giving the middle finger to all of rural Missouri.

These actions weren’t taken to help farmers or protect rural communities. On the contrary, they were taken to help large corporations expand their operations and steamroll over independent farmers. It’s cynical and cruel for Republicans to claim allegiance to rural America while simultaneously undermining its survival. Real farmers are being sacrificed so politicians can cash checks from corporate donors and then turn around and pretend they’re champions of the heartland.

But all is not lost: Missouri still has a chance to change course. We can stop this before our water becomes unsafe, our land becomes polluted, and our small towns turn into shadows of their former selves. But that requires restoring local control, setting sensible limits on manure and fertilizer use, and, most importantly, holding CAFOs responsible for the waste they generate.

It means the state legislature must come forward and tell the truth: that what’s good for corporate shareholders is not always good for Missouri. The people who live here—the families who fish in these waters, drink from these wells, and raise their children on this land—deserve better.

We don’t need to become another Iowa. But if we let corporate agriculture continue writing our laws, that’s precisely where we’re headed. And by then, it won’t just be someone else’s backyard on the line. It’ll be your water, your health, and your family.

For more information, see the report: The Cost of CAFOS - Impacts on Your Wallet and Your Health, published by the Iowa Environmental Council