Danielle Wirth asked that I forward this message to our list serv.  She would like to hear from folks who received the negative campaign robo call in the Secretary of Agriculture race last week.

Please respond to her at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Danielle Wirth<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 12:29 PM
Subject: Re: the future of agriculture and water quality in Iowa?


There is an unsettling feel to the Tuesday election. On Wednesday, 
several students contacted me about very disturbing phone calls they 
received about the Secretary of Agriculture race in Iowa.

It is no secret that I am a strong advocate of local, sustainable, and 
where possible  - organic foods. Environmental science looks at the 
totality of the environment. It is  also a fact that Iowa has the 
poorest water quality of any state in the United States. There is a 
connection between industrial agriculture, including CAFOs, 
monocultures and "fall plowing" - and the health of the environment. 
People who live in this industrialized agriculture landscape are more 
affected by certain diseases and health syndromes than their cohort 
groups in other parts of the country. For additional information about 
the impact of common agriculture chemicals in the groundwater and human 
health, I recommend reviewing research papers written by Warren Porter 
of U. of WI, Madison. Dr. Porter has focused on the synergistic impacts 
of chemicals that impact the immune and endocrine systems. His latest 
research focuses on children.

So, here's what I would like to establish. Does anyone on these lists 
have an audio copy of a prerecorded message from a possible 527 
political group that made claims about the organic farmer running for 
Secretary of Agriculture? The phone calls were very upsetting to my 
students. Some received them directly, some were told about the phone 
call by friends. I professional colleague also received a call  - and 
she related that it was troubling. I DID NOT receive that call but wish 
I had because I would have transferred it to permanent storage for 
future analysis.

I would like to hear the message for myself. If the inferences and 
implications are accurate, as related by my students, then I believe 
that the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Republican Party and Bill Northey 
HIMSELF have a lot of explaining to do. An apology might also be 
appropriate. I know that politics is a contact sport. Only the tough 
should play. But the tone of the supporters of industrial agriculture 
is among the most base propaganda I've experienced.

Further, I wonder how many of the Farm Bureau "products" are actually 
agriculture-based? What percentage of their accumulated wealth is from 
insurance? How many alternative insurers are their in the state of 
Iowa?

Danielle Wirth
South Boone County - Rural activist 


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