“The river is being treated as a sewer. It deserves better; we deserve better. Where we’re sitting right now, we’re the number one cancer county in Iowa” – Jodi Reese
A groundbreaking new initiative to shine a light on factory farming in Iowa reveals some troubling data. Iowa has more factory farms – 10,830 of them – than any other state. Farmed animals in Iowa produce staggering amounts of manure, which result in nitrate runoff into the groundwater, streams and lakes.
Nitrates are linked to a higher risk of colorectal, kidney, thyroid, prostate and breast cancer. Small towns in Iowa can face months-long stretches when their water is undrinkable. More than half of Iowa’s rivers and streams, and more than 60% of its lakes and reservoirs, failed water quality standards in 2024.
Iowa now has the fastest-growing cancer rate in the nation. Similar situations are unfolding in other farming states such as North Carolina, Minnesota, and Georgia. Given the projected increases in the consumption of meat and dairy, this problem is likely to become worse. According to the Environmental Working Group, nearly 20% of Americans have unacceptably high levels of nitrates in their drinking water.
For more, see “Sentient Media Mapped Every Factory Farm in Iowa and We’re Releasing the Data for Free” (Sentient Media. September 22, 2026) and “We Mapped All 11,000 Factory Farms in Iowa. Here Are Five Things We Learned.“(Sentient Media. September 22, 2026).
It doesn’t have to be this way. Factory farms are driven by consumer demand, and we as consumers can decide what to put in our shopping carts and on our plates. Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint through plant-based eating by visiting the Plant-Based Eating page on Green Newton’s website or connecting with a volunteer Plant-Based Eating Coach.