Iowa Candidate Points to Farming Practices as Root Cause of Rising Cancer Rates 

Iowa has the second-highest rate of cancer in the country, and both candidates for governor are putting this issue at the forefront of their campaigns.

At an event with the American Cancer Society, MAHA Republican nominee for governor Zach Lahn said the state’s high cancer rates are “tied into agriculture” and Iowa’s water system.

“I would just say that any discussion about cancer rates that doesn’t include water isn’t a genuine discussion,” he said, elaborating that the problem is tied to agriculture and that “we just have to own it and solve it.”

Dan Capodilupo, Lahn’s director of communications, told the Daily Signal that the event was productive, and representatives there shared personal stories, discussed solutions, and discussed policy priorities.

“High nitrate load in water is one of the top causes of colon cancer, one of the fastest-killing cancers that there is. Zach committed to funding the IWILL program to improve Iowa’s water quality,” Capodilupo said.

Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy initiative, or IWILL, is a clean-water initiative whose fund “sits empty.” According to its website, the program needs a state sales tax increase of three-eighths of a cent to resume operations.

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Lahn, a friend of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is endorsed by Kennedy’s super PAC, MAHA Action. The political group describes Lahn as a regenerative farmer who does not use pesticides or chemicals, and it says he will champion the farming technique in the Corn State, “remove environmental toxins, and make sure that MAHA means prosperity for all Iowans.”

“Zach will work alongside farmers to provide incentives for proven conservation practices that reduce runoff, improve water quality, and protect our natural resources without punishing producers,” Capodilupo confirmed.

Democrat Nominee Rob Sand

While Lahn’s opponent, Democrat state Auditor Rob Sand, avoided questions from the Daily Signal, his campaign falsely claimed he was “the only candidate in the race for governor with an actual plan” to address Iowa’s cancer rates. Lahn also has a plan outlined on his campaign website.

Both plans address water quality and funding for cancer research, but they are not identical.

Sand’s plan includes investing in water-quality monitors, establishing “a dirty water notification system,” investing in radon testing, and “denying immunity for chemical companies sickening Iowans.”

Lahn’s plan is similar but calls for conducting independent safety tests; pursuing antitrust suits against large agricultural companies that produce seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers linked to cancer; and providing incentives for farmers to use regenerative solutions that address runoff and water contamination.

While Lahn is focused on cleaning Iowa’s water supply, Sand is focused on cancer research funding and health care costs, which Lahn said he also supports.

Sand spotlights “skyrocketing costs, growing cancer rates, Iowans getting kicked off of health care, rural hospitals closing their doors, and losing our next generation of health care professionals to culture wars and better opportunities elsewhere” as the problem.

Is Taxing Tobacco the Answer?

Sand had a similar discussion with the American Cancer Society last month, where the conversation focused on these issues, as well as possible support for a tobacco tax increase, which Lahn does not support. The society supports a $1.50-per-pack increase as well, but Lahn called it a poverty tax.

“I would not support it if there was not a commensurate increase in the ability for us to help people get off of the product in the first place,” Lahn said during his conversation with the American Cancer Society. “Because otherwise, what we’re doing there is essentially a poverty tax, and you’ll hurt the people that are actually in the most need in our society.”

Sand said that while he supports a tax increase, he does not believe he will get $1.50 from the Republican-controlled Legislature. However, he wants Iowa to remain competitive with neighboring states. “I think if we raised it by 65 or 55 cents, we would still be around the same area as our neighbors,” he said.

Both candidates say they will protect access to and expansion of Iowa’s Medicaid program and prioritize cancer research funding.