Des Moines, IA — Today, Iowans from across the state converged in the Capitol Rotunda to rally in support of a moratorium on new and expanding factory farms, hosted by the Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture. Speakers highlighted the skyrocketing greenhouse gas emissions, worsening water quality and rural economic decline associated with factory farming in Iowa, and demanded legislative action on the issue this session.

The mounting climate crisis, local water safety concerns and corporate carving out of rural communities underline the urgency for legislative action on factory farms. 2023 will be the sixth year that legislators introduce legislation calling for a moratorium on new and expanding factory farm operations in Iowa.

Food & Water Watch research shows that annual methane emissions of Iowa’s hog and cattle factory farms equal pollution from 4.4 million gas-powered passenger cars, almost twice the number of passenger vehicles registered in-state. Factory farm pollution and manure runoff are also driving Iowa’s water crisis — the state ranks number four in the country in impaired waterways, with 93 percent of its river and stream miles impaired. According to a Food & Water Watch report, hog factory farm development in Iowa counties is associated with negative economic indicators for local residents including low household income and job loss.

“Factory farms are a blight on Iowa’s environment, and a threat to our climate and communities,” said Emma Schmit, Food & Water Watch Senior Organizer. “For years, while legislators in Des Moines have ignored industry’s unchecked expansion, Iowans have been organizing. As we approach a climate tipping point and stare down a future of near-100% impaired state waterways, Iowans are demanding leadership and accountability from our elected officials. It is high time we pass a factory farm moratorium in Iowa.”

“The concentration of animals in feeding operations directly mirrors the concentration of impaired waterways in our state and the concentration of profits in the top few firms in the meat-packing industry,” said Tommy Hexter, Rural Organizer and Educator for the Iowa Farmers Union. “The Iowa Farmers Union stands in support of a moratorium on CAFOs in Iowa to protect our water quality and ensure that farmers get a fair payout for the food they raise. We are proud to be a member organization of the Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture to protect our rural communities and environment.”

“For too long, giant corporations behind Iowa’s factory farms have bought a free pass to run roughshod over our people, our communities, our water, land, and air,” said Cherie Mortice, an Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement member. “Iowans deserve a more just food and farm system that puts power back in the hands of everyday people. A moratorium on new and expanding factory farms is a necessary first step to putting rural communities and the people who are impacted the most, back in the driver’s seat.”

Press conference recording available here.

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]