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With key races for governor, Senate and House on the ballot in November, Sentient surveyed more than 1,000 Iowans about their relationship to industrial agriculture. Here’s what we found: buff.ly/LVBSrgV

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We Asked 1,000 Iowans About Factory Farming. Here’s What We Learned.

A survey taken this past spring shows a majority of Iowans say they have experienced negative environmental impacts from industrial animal operations. But plenty are also ambivalent, or ignorant,…

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 21h

Iowa resident Nick Schutt has witnessed the state’s cancer crisis firsthand. Now, he wonders if he’s next. Watch the full doc: buff.ly/1DdLand

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 28/09/2026

Iowa the most factory farms in the country, and is overflowing with animal waste: over 170 billion pounds a year, in fact. It’s full of nitrogen, and that runoff manure is wreaking havoc in the rivers — and the health of its residents. buff.ly/U1MUW26

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Iowa Built an Agricultural Powerhouse. What Did It Cost?

While cancer rates across the country are dropping, Iowa has the fastest growing cancer rate in the United States. Is industrial agriculture to blame? We went to Iowa to find out. The state has…

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 25/09/2026

We built an interactive map that allows Iowans to find factory farms in their own backyards. Here's what we learned: buff.ly/SDVzwZd

The Core: We Mapped All 11,000 Factory Farms in Iowa. Here Are Five Things We Learned.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 24/09/2026

In Iowa, there are more factory farms than grocery stores. Yet for most of the public, their locations and the amount of manure they may be producing is inaccessible. Until now. buff.ly/vqeKl0K

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Iowa: How much factory farm manure is in your backyard?

An interactive map of Iowa's concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs): where they are, how many animals they hold, and how much manure they produce.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 24/09/2026

When the factory farming model came to Iowa, there was wide public pushback. But today, researcher @austinfrerick.bsky.social says the worst actors continue to thrive. As water pollution in the state grows, so do Iowa’s cancer rates. Watch the full doc: buff.ly/3sdOSmL

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 23/09/2026

Forests are also being systematically destroyed by the agriculture industry, and this rampant deforestation imperils the lives of plants, animals and humans alike. buff.ly/sBRLiW3

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Agriculture Affects Deforestation Much More Than Most People Realize

Cattle farming accounts for 72 percent of all deforested land across the Amazon, and 41 percent of all tropical deforestation worldwide.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 23/09/2026

The USDA has announced a massive meat recall on more than 167,000 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat products that officials said were produced without federal inspection. Danielle Langenfeld reports for @thehill.com: buff.ly/GKAsEh5

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Massive meat recall affects beef, pork and more: USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a massive meat recall on more than 167,000 pounds of of raw pork, beef, and goat products that officials said were produced without the benefit of f…

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 23/09/2026

Concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, are central to Iowa’s rise as an agricultural powerhouse. As the number of CAFOs skyrocketed, the state’s cancer rates, which have been linked to nitrate pollution from these farm sites, also climbed.

Infographic showing how the number of CAFOs in Iowa have grown since 1990. Text reads
The number of large CAFOs in Iowa has grown more than fivefold since 1990.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 22/09/2026

Iowa has the most factory farms in the United States, but where those farms spread manure is confidential. So we decided to map them all. Here’s what we learned 🧵

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 22/09/2026

A MAGA commentator is facing pushback on social media after suggesting Americans switch to veggie burgers to avoid higher beef costs. Giulia Carbonaro reports for @newsweek.com: buff.ly/k41ouKS

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MAGA Commentator Suggests Eating Veggie Burgers as Beef Prices Rise

Just In

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 22/09/2026

In Iowa, there are more concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) than grocery stores. Yet for most of the public, the location of nearby CAFOs and the amount of manure they may be producing is inaccessible. Until now.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 21/09/2026

Cooke Aquaculture touts the jobs its salmon farms bring to the state, but local critics say the potential costs to their waters, livelihoods and wild Atlantic salmon outweigh the benefits. buff.ly/wTM30Wz

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Mainers Fight to Protect Wild Salmon From Fish Farms

Cooke Aquaculture touts the jobs its salmon farms bring to the state, but local critics say the potential costs to their waters, livelihoods and wild Atlantic salmon outweigh the benefits.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 21/09/2026

What was once a bipartisan slam dunk has now become a hyper-politicized game of chicken, with hunger, nutrition, and conservation programs on the line. @fridagarza.bsky.social reports for @grist.org: buff.ly/eK1LQ2R

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Has the farm bill hit a dead end?

What was once a bipartisan slam dunk has now become a hyper-politicized game of chicken, with hunger, nutrition, and conservation programs on the line.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 21/09/2026

Iowa has a cancer problem. With the most consequential election cycle in recent memory around the corner, water and cancer are on the ballot in a way they’ve never been before. Stay tuned for the full doc on Thursday, September 24.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 18/09/2026

The Trump administration’s grand plan to bring down beef prices includes importing more meat. But what does this mean for the planet? @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/IgNBPlx

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Trump's Beef Import Plan Could Bring Down Prices — and Drive Up Emissions

Planetary emissions are already in a dangerous phase, scientists warn.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 18/09/2026

Big news! 🚨 @ninaelkadi.com’s Sentient feature, “In the Arizona Desert, Where Your Neighbor Is an Alfalfa Farm,” is the recipient of the Food and Agriculture Multimedia Journalism Award from @coveringclimatenow.org.

A man stands in the Arizona desert. Text reads:
2026 CCNow Journalism Awards
In the Arizona Desert, Where Your Neighbor Is an Alfalfa Farm

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 17/09/2026

Iowa is in the midst of a cancer crisis. Nationally, cancer death rates have fallen for three decades. Iowa is one of only three states where new diagnoses are rising and it has the fastest-rising rate in the nation according to federal data.

A chart showing new cancer cases per 100,000 people, highlighting New Mexico, California, Texas, New York, Iowa and Kentucky. Text reads:
Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the country. It is one of only three states where rates are rising.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 17/09/2026

Brazilians will soon head to the polls to elect their next president, and the two leading candidates’ environmental policies couldn’t be more different. Read more in The Core: buff.ly/58uMVr4

Deforestation Is on the Ballot in Brazil

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 16/09/2026

To much fanfare, McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell all pledged to cut routine antibiotics from their beef ten years ago. None of the companies have delivered. None will even say whether they’re still trying. @byng.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/ODEW00D

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McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell Fail to Meet Antibiotic Reduction Commitments

The fast food giants are silent on whether they’re still pursuing targets set a decade ago.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 16/09/2026

As the Senate prepares to vote on the farm bill today, some pork industry groups are still hoping to see the controversial Save Our Bacon Act included. buff.ly/qtxPi8N

sentientmedia.org

Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Spares Animal Welfare Law, for Now

The controversial Save Our Bacon Act has been omitted from the text of the latest Farm Bill proposal.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 15/09/2026

Livestock producers generate a mountain of plastics. Resourceful ranchers are developing solutions. @moiradonovan.bsky.social reports for Offrange: buff.ly/mzdNMJE

ambrook.com

Ranching’s Plastic Problem

Livestock producers generate a mountain of plastics. Resourceful ranchers are developing solutions.

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 15/09/2026

AI is coming to factory farms. Will the animals benefit, or just the industry?

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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 12/09/2026

“This is an important moment: food is on the political agenda, and it’s time to fill this gap in the media ecosystem with new voices,” says Ana Bradley, Executive Director of Sentient. Learn more about the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund: buff.ly/ouzaPdk

sentientmedia.org

Introducing the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund, a New Fund for One of America's Most Underreported Beats

A $360,000 fund from Sentient Media will invest in storytellers tackling factory farming.

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