The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality

by Chris Jones

Interested in the truth about Iowa and the Midwest's water quality? You won't get it from Iowa's agricultural and political leaders. Among midwestern Corn Belt states, Iowa contains some of the world's most productive farmland; the state frequently tops all others in harvested totals of corn and soybeans and has helped the U.S. be the world's largest producer of corn every year since at least 1961. Iowa also has a lot of animals that eat corn and soybeans. The state is first in egg and pork production and fifth in the number of feedlot cattle. Concentrating both cropland and livestock within the state has created efficiencies in production, transportation, fertilization, and accumulated wealth for a lucky few. The immensity of this production has come at a soil erosion, the loss of wildlife habitat, a lack of public parks and recreation areas, foul air from animal waste, and especially degraded water. Iowa has over 70,000 miles of streams, and only 15 segments of these meet all the designated uses outlined under the Clean Water Act. The pollutants from Iowa's rivers ultimately drain to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, part of which is killed off every summer by Corn Belt pollution from farms 1,500 miles upstream. More than 20% of Iowans drink water treated for the removal of nitrate--a regulated drinking water contaminant that results from corn and livestock production--and nearly 7,000 private wells are contaminated with this pollutant.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Agriculture, Food, Essays

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Josh Santel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this for every Iowan, really. I was worried about this book being too complicated or hard to read because it deals with science and statistics. You really don't have to be worried about that. Each chapter is an essay/blog post and so everything is very easy to take in.

[Brant Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would recommend to any Iowan that wonders why our state looks the way it does. Jones is frank, defiant, and inspires others to demand the clean water and environment that Iowan taxpayers pay for, but don’t receive. Lazy critics (aka all of my extended family) will label this book as anti-farmer. This book is pro-farmer, just not the 65 year old farmer who has gotten rich off government subsidies and poor environmental regulation his entire life. And more importantly, pro-Iowan.

Important for my recommendation: this book doesn’t just complain. Jones certainly complains, but offers real, measurable, doable solutions based on quantitative science and research.

There are many reasons why I will likely never live in Iowa again, and that makes me very sad. One clear, easy reason is our environmental and (particularly) water quality. Iowa has the potential to be as beautiful a state as MN or WI, yet instead us Iowans make the drive north for vacations rather than demand clean water in our backyards, wells, and drinking water. All to let the 2-3% of Iowans who farm off the hook for the pollution they purposely, and in some cases *needlessly*, create.

[Evan Streeby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for any Iowan. Growing up, I was told by my parents that the Iowa River was one of the dirtiest in the world. It has never left my mind, and I’m sad looking at our water anywhere.

This book corroborates the claims my parents made, and explains the sad, disheartening take of how we got here.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly really enjoyed this book even though when I first got my book list for this class just the look of this one made me dread it. Make it’s the size of it, the kind of ambiguous title, something? One thing to know about this book is it’s essentially a collection of blog posts from his website over the past few years, with some additional essays thrown in. He’s writing to a wide audience, so it’s super approachable. I do feel like I learned a lot and it’s made me feel very passionate about Iowa water quality frankly. I think also just how related it is to where I live is helpful. This all being said, this book is really repetitive. That’s the nature of publishing all of your separate blog posts into one book—they will overlap. Maybe if you read it in a normal length of time it would feel less repetitive and be more helpful.

I think why this is getting 5 stars instead of 4 is that it was approachable, but I’m not really sure if my rating system is foolproof honestly…oh well!

[Zack Horve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very meaningful book for me. As someone who grew up in the heart of ag country (Illinois, not Iowa though), I don't think I knew how much I was missing until I left. I never knew that lakes could be anything other than murky and green, or that it was possible to not be worried about getting sick after coming in contact with a creek.

Chris's blog opened my eyes to a lot of the propaganda that is spread to justify the degradation of our landscapes and he was the first person I have ever heard say "hey, this isn't normal".

One day we will have a more just society and people like Chris and books like this will be part of the reason why.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big ag has screwed Iowa - and the majority of Iowans that are not farmers are expected to pay for the environmental damage through tax dollars - meanwhile Iowa has become one of the leading states in new cancer diagnoses- ugh -

[Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in Iowa should read this book. It’s witty, funny, and pulls no punches. Super educational, but also entertaining. Thank you Chris for all of your work and giving a shit.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone wants to know what's really going on in with water smack dab in the middle of corn/ethanol country, this is the book that goes into great detail. Iowa's waterways are a complete mess, and Chris Jones, through his essays, explains the hows and whys. Corporate interests and politicians want to hide the disgusting, smelly mess of of Iowa's lakes, rivers and streams behind "we all want clean water" talking points. Clearly, they don't. The vast majority of Iowa's lakes are unfit for recreation. The nutrient reduction strategy sham touting successes and fixes are laughably undercut by the vast majority of agriculture overapplying nitrogen and phosphorus. Tile the whole state of Iowa, no matter where the soil is located, straighten rivers and then wonder why, when we do get rain, the whole state state flushes like one giant toilet.

My personal take after reading Chris Jones's book :

I've lived in Iowa my whole, six decade life. When my family obligations are through, I want to get out. Cramming over 24 million hogs into one state (Iowa) is and will have serious ecological consequences, particularly in areas with karst (bedrock) soil, which NE Iowa possesses. When the pork barons (few independent hog farmers exist) destroy the last semblance of the natural landscape, they'll move into other states. The Iowa planned carbon capture pipelines across Iowa, a recent scam perpetrated by both political parties, is a lone grifter stealing from the taxpayer. Those ethanol pipelines require millions of gallons of water to move that capture North underground. Solar and wind power do not need water. What will happen to ethanol when the droughts continue in Iowa, as the planet melts further. Will corporate ag shove the corn into hogs first or gas tanks? Ethanol was simply growing too much of a heavily subsidized crop. Gee, let's mix it with gasoline. Yeah, that's a 'great' idea. EVs are the way to go, NOT ethanol. I wonder when the public will finally realize this? When we reach 110 degree Summers in Iowa and we have to irrigate a limited corn crop, maybe then.

[Molly Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to see a talk given by the author thanks to the Prairie Rivers Network out of Champaign, IL, and after seeing him speak on how the threats to groundwater quality in Illinois are similar in nature to Iowa’s (and thus likely warrant similar solutions), I was eager to learn more and this book did not disappoint. Extremely reasonable and well-researched arguments are made with enough data to back them up, and as an engineer advocating for “green infrastructure” overhaul programs, I feel this book shows how far we have to go in making the necessary changes to how we treat our land and freshwater resources.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jones lays out the realities of industrial agriculture—water pollution, soil loss and political avoidance—with a mix of exasperation and dry, dark humor that feels painfully accurate. He’s blunt and genuinely funny in that “if I don’t laugh, I’ll scream” way that anyone familiar with Iowa water quality debates will recognize immediately.

What worked for me is how readable it is despite the density of the subject. Jones can go from data-driven analysis to a sardonic one-liner without losing the thread, and that balance kept me engaged through topics that are usually buried in research papers or industry spin.

As someone who’s watched Iowa’s environmental decline up close, I appreciated the clarity and honesty. It’s infuriating to see how much damage we’ve normalized in the name of “productivity,” and Jones captures that tension with both authority and well-earned snark.

It made me even more aware of the environmental trade-offs we all quietly participate in just by living here. Plus, it prompted me to install a reverse osmosis water filtration system. If anyone offers you a glass of tap water in Iowa, decline it.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler. This is a collection of previously posted blog posts. Some read as repetitive. The key facts in them do not change. Saying that if you read a few a day around other tasks or reading it is fine. I learned a lot. I have lived in Iowa nearly 50yrs of my life. There have been changes. This book concentrates of water quality from some of the farming practice changes I have seen. Some of this may make you angry but at the very least you will be informed. It should be available rather than suppressed because it questions many farm policies.

[Ann Broderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have lived in Iowa for 40 years, filter my water ( charcoal is worthless for nitrates) but never understood tiling, fall fertilizer application, over fertilization-what else are you going to do with all the hog manure. And I bought the narrative that Iowa farmers are just stuck with 2 crops and hog confinement farming.

This is an important book to read for Iowans. As a physician, I wish we would ask ourselves if ethanol made from corn is worth the pollution and query if our cancer rates could be a result of how we use the land.

[Alexander Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you plan on living in Iowa and raising your kids here, this is the most important book you need to read. Maybe not the most eloquently written book, but the facts and information in it is critical. Neither side of the Iowa Congress will touch the subjects brought up here, so it is up to you to educate and protect yourself.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

One last call for ethanol so finish your corn bourbon and CAFO pork.

[Tyler Granger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ethanol is cleaner for your engine, tailpipe, and for Iowa skies than fossil fuels.

[Chase Seibert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Iowan should read it

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a feel-good book. The agribusiness complex has us by the short hairs. Deny, deflect, distract and delay is the major strategy that keeps the status quo going—a strategy many politicians also use.

[William Crosby]

[Iowa mention]

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non fiction book club pick. Lots of food for thought.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This blook (blog + book, you can use that if you want Chris) reads like someone that flunked a student on accident.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Research-based examination of agriculture and its impact on water supplies.

[Angie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone speaking the truth- with a bit of humor and snarkiness- I loved it. The author has knowledge, and is frustrated and angry by what is happening (capitalistic greed) and we should all be angry. I admit it has made me so much more leery about swimming in Iowa waters, but I appreciate the knowledge I gained from the read. In a state with 3 million people, 24 million hogs produce as much waste as 83.7 million people placing Iowa waste equivalent to that produced by 134 million people, or the 10th most populous country in the world. Human sewage is treated but livestock sewage hits our land- au naturel. Wetland ecosystems once covered 20% of Iowa, and by 1980 they are now less than 1%. Drainage tile lowered the water table so wet fields could be worked and planted drying up these wetlands. THe drainage tile became the main loss pathway for nitrate-nitrogen, which would become Iowa's most recaltitrant water pollution problem. I am still stewing at my in-laws for just putting in drainage tile for their renter. The author blames row crops, animal agriculture, and golf courses for our stream pollution problems.


Solutions: Ban row crop agriculture in 2 year flood plain 2- ban fall tillage 3- ban manure on snow and frozen ground 4- make farmers adhere to ISU fertilization guidelines 5- reformulate CAFO regulations- Farmers in Iowa need to be planting crops other than corn and soybeans- 60% of cron grown in Iowa is used for ethanol but as clean energy use increases our need for ethanol will decrease, posing a threat to farmers and the ethanol industry. Solar can coexist in Iowa food production. Ethanol is a distraction and our continued devotion to it is dangerous. 97% of Iowans are not farmers yet we are held hostage by the 3% who do farm. Imagine what we could do with 7 million of acres in Iowa if we stopped growing corn for ethanol: 1 million acres could grow enough beans for every US citizen, 360 acres could grow enough potatoes for every US citizen, 220,000 acres could grow enough apples for every US citizen, 150,000 could grow sweet corn for every US citizen, 140,000 could grow enough onions for every US citien, 37,000 acres coudl grow enough cherries for every US citizen, 26,000 acres could grow enough walnuts for every US citizen. Growing corn for ethanol is lazy and makes no sense. We need to diversify Iowan farms.

Here in Iowa we might say a Catch 2022 goes likes this: only crazy people say we should regulate agriculture for better water quality, but only sane people say it will work

We need more public lands- Iowa ranks third lowest in the US. Yet we also do not track the pollution coming into our streams and state parks.


I appreciated the technical specific details that are really not part of public knowledge. We need to DEMAND CLEAN WATER NOW and we need laws and we need people to have the courage to say we need laws in place to have clean water.

Bill McKibben calls the book truly brilliant and I have to agree