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