Environment

IowaWatch Connection Podcast: Health Impacts Of Widely-Used Pesticides Uncertain

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From our friends at Iowa Watch: Iowa’s wide expanses of row-cropped fields produced roughly 2.5 billion bushels of corn and 554 million bushels of soybeans in 2015. And for many, those high yields are thanks in part to pesticides. But what impact, if any, do those chemicals have on our health? It’s a controversial topic and the answer is hard to pin down. In many cases, those we spoke with said the jury is still out.

Agribusiness

Dangerous jobs, cheap meats

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The meatpacking industry has made a lot of progress on worker safety since publication of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” in 1906, but some things remain the same: the work is mostly done by immigrants and refugees; they suffer high rates of injuries and even, sometimes death; and the government lags in oversight.

Reports

Farmers question impact of new Illinois mine

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Keith Rohl remembers the day he was asked to lease the coal rights to his farmland in Homer, Ill.
It was 2009, a wet year for the crops, when he was lined up at the grain elevator with his neighbors hearing about the proposed Bulldog Mine for the first time.
“The neighbors were all talking about, ‘You sell your coal rights, and you get to farm your land on top. You’re going to have all kinds of money and everything.’ And I thought ‘Boy, that sounds great to me, and I was ready to sign up,’ ” he said.
But the more Rohl talked with the company who planned to establish the mine, Sunrise Coal LLC, the less he understood about what the mine would mean long term for his community.

Agribusiness

Bacon Remains Popular Despite Health Concerns

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Despite links to health problems, including a World Health Organization report confirming that processed meats cause colorectal cancer, bacon has been popular enough in the last few years for pork industry workers to start referring to a “bacon tsunami.” The trend is good economic news for Iowa, the top pork-producing state in the U.S.

Food for thought

Opinion: Latest ethanol mandates draw relief, disappointment

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The U.S. farmer is drowning in a sea of corn. So the Nov. 30 announcement by the EPA to push oil companies to blend a total of 18.1 billion gallons of biofuels into gasoline in 2016 came as a relief to some. Here’s why.

Thank You

Your donation counts double, please give today

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Please help the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting raise the money to match a $50,000 grant! For every dollar you give, the Center will get another dollar from a generous grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. A gift of $25, $50, $100 or even more will help us in our goal to get all of the matching grant. Over the past year, we’ve worked hard to bring you in-depth stories and data on the agribusiness issues that impacts your life. And we do it with a small, dedicated staff that digs for documents and interviews to go beyond opinion and rhetoric to deliver the facts.

Government

Illinois gets D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation

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The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting spent six months researching the state laws and practices in Illinois as part of the State Integrity Investigation. The State Integrity Investigation is a data-driven assessment of state laws and practices that deter corruption and promote accountability and transparency by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. This is the second time the project has run.