‘Dead zone’ in Mexico predicted to be larger than average

Even Iowans regularly met with algae-choked waterways and beaches closed by E-coli contamination may not fully grasp the severity of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. An area the size of Connecticut is devoid of marine life in the Gulf. In both cases, the enormous factory farms and industrial row crops dominating our state are directly to blame.

It comes as no surprise the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is predicted to be larger than average this summer. Indeed, Iowa legislators and regulators charged with reducing Big Ag’s water pollution have done anything but. Lax policies have ushered in a factory farm boom in Iowa, at the direct expense of clean water.

A Food & Water Watch analysis found that Iowa factory farms produce 109 billion pounds of waste annually — 78% more than 20 years ago — while synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used to grow livestock feed multiply the pollution burden. In a single day, the Iowa River alone can deposit nearly 2 million pounds of nitrate-nitrogen into the Gulf of Mexico. Barely a fraction is regulated: more than 4,000 factory farms operate in Iowa without any water pollution permits at all.

For the sake of all our water, this must change. State legislators must pass the Clean Water for Iowa Act next session to get a handle on the worsening crisis.

Jennifer Breon

Iowa City