Iowa faces a particularly alarming situation. The Hawkeye state has the dubious honor of second-highest, fastest-growing cancer rate in the nation. While experts attribute multiple factors to Iowa’s cancer epidemic, including high alcohol consumption, pesticides have long been suspected to be an under-researched culprit. The Frontiers research also found that the widespread use of glyphosate (better known as Roundup) and other agricultural chemicals may contaminate the water supply, posing a significant health risk even to individuals not directly involved in agriculture. Given the growing evidence that pesticides are causing significant harm, it is unconscionable that the pesticide companies: A) Refuse to acknowledge that there might be a link between their product and blood cancers like leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as lung, pancreatic, and colon cancer; B) Cover up their own studies on the cancer connection while downplaying outside research; and, C) Push for legislation that would excuse them from responsibility when citizen juries find that Roundup and other pesticides cause cancer and other deadly illnesses. Lobbyists for Bayer – the chemical conglomerate that makes Roundup – are already on record, saying they will be back in Iowa next year, asking Iowa lawmakers to protect their profits and shield them from legal accountability. They also convinced friendly members of the U.S. House to slip a pesticide immunity measure into the national Farm Bill. If they don’t get their way here or in Washington, D.C., they threaten to stop making Roundup (they won’t get their way in Washington AND they won’t stop making and selling Roundup). We know that open discussion on this topic is challenging for many Iowans. Pesticides and other chemicals are necessary tools for maintaining high crop yields, which, in turn, drive agricultural income and contribute to food security and affordability. But we don’t believe Bayer’s bluff, and we don’t think Iowans will either. Instead, we are confident that Republican and Democrat legislators will continue to stand with farmers and other workers against toxic chem-conglomerates, defeating any bill that takes the power of accountability away from the people. | 
