{"id":237621,"date":"2026-04-06T20:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237621\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:18:10","slug":"communities-near-concentrated-animal-feeding-operations-have-higher-cancer-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237621\/","title":{"rendered":"Communities Near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Have Higher Cancer Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation<\/a> of any size.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by The New Lede<\/a>.<\/p>\n

People living near concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in California, Texas and Iowa suffer from higher rates of cancer, suggesting that the air and water pollution from the massive farms may be playing a role, according to a new study. <\/p>\n

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research<\/a>, comes just weeks after a years-long report in Iowa<\/a> found the state\u2019s agricultural chemicals and CAFO pollution are, in part, behind its rising cancer rate.<\/p>\n

In the new study, Yale University researchers examined the rates of all cancers over the past 20 years in Texas, California and Iowa counties along with the density of CAFOs in the counties. High exposure counties were defined as those in the top 25% of CAFO density for their state. The researchers found rates for all types of cancers were 4% higher in highly exposed California counties, and 8% higher in highly exposed Iowa and Texas counties when compared to counties with lower CAFO density. <\/p>\n

They found certain cancers were more strongly associated with CAFO density in each state. For example, stronger links were seen for bladder cancer in California, colorectal cancer in Iowa, and lung and bronchus cancer in Texas. <\/p>\n

Iowa has the highest number of CAFOs in the country, according to federal data<\/a> that ranks California fifth and Texas sixth. <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n


\n \"Cows
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis unsustainable food system \u2026 must be reformed before it is too late,\u201d one advocate said.\n <\/p>\n

Lead author Jiyoung Son, an associate research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment, said there are \u201cmultiple pathways\u201d by which CAFOs could cause higher cancer rates. They emit air pollutants including ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, she said, which can form secondary pollutants in the atmosphere. <\/p>\n

\u201cExposure to these substances is linked to inflammation, oxidative stress, and immunosuppression, which can all contribute to cancer development,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In addition, CAFOs are major sources of water pollution from the large amounts of manure that are stored or spread on fields as fertilizer. This can lead to nitrate contamination in water, which can lead to the formation of carcinogens. Nitrate pollution in water has been linked to various cancers including colon, bladder and thyroid cancers. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, policymakers have been able to say they don\u2019t know how nitrate impacts our health, especially when it comes to cancer,\u201d said Sarah Green, executive director at the Iowa Environmental Council. \u201cAs more and more studies emerge, the people in power can no longer claim they don\u2019t know.\u201d <\/p>\n

Son and colleagues warn in the study that nitrate pollution may disproportionately impact rural homes on private wells. <\/p>\n

\u201cPrivate wells are largely unregulated, and many households may remain unaware of contamination risks or lack resources to treat their water,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n

The study did not test people\u2019s actual exposure, and does not definitively prove that CAFOs cause cancer, the authors wrote. Some cancers were not linked to CAFO density, including breast cancer in Texas and Iowa. <\/p>\n

Wendy Brannen, vice president of communications & marketing for the National Pork Producers Council, pointed out that Son and colleagues acknowledged certain limitations of the study \u2014 specifically that poverty, limited healthcare access, and lower cancer screening rates could be behind the associations seen.<\/p>\n

Iowa CAFOs and Cancer Rates <\/p>\n

The study comes on the heels of a report <\/a>from the Iowa Environmental Council and The Harkin Institute, that found agricultural pollutants \u2014 including pesticides and CAFO-generated pollution \u2014 are, in part, driving the Iowa\u2019s high cancer rates. Iowa has the second-highest rate of cancer in the nation and is only one of three states where cancer is rising<\/a>, according to the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

Iowa\u2019s CAFOs, along with fertilizers applied to crops, contribute to Iowa\u2019s Des Moines and Raccoon rivers being in the top 1% of rivers nationwide for nitrate contamination. An estimated 80% of the contamination comes from agriculture. Just this week the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced an investigation<\/a> into a manure spill into a waterway.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Iowa \u2026 these findings are particularly stark,\u201d Food & Water Watch research director Amanda Starbuck said of the new Yale study. \u201cIowa\u2019s factory farms produce 109 billion pounds of manure each year \u2014 over 25 times as much as the state\u2019s human population \u2014 driving elevated cancer-linked nitrate water pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Shriver, co-author of last month\u2019s report from Iowa and director of wellness and nutrition policy at The Harkin Institute, said Iowa should bolster its tracking of manure spreading so residents and regulators have a better sense of where pollution might occur. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems like a no-brainer that you would want to have a system that has a geospatial map of where all the manure is being applied so that you have a better sense of what is happening in the waterways,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Brannen said a separate report on cancer in Iowa published last month by the Iowa Cancer Registry<\/a> found that Iowa farmers have 13% fewer cancers overall than the general population in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most rigorous, long-term research available \u2014 following actual farmers for 30 years \u2014 finds that Iowa farmers are significantly less likely to develop cancers than the general population, not more,\u201d she said. \u201cThat finding should be the headline here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Son said the next step to understand CAFOs\u2019 role in cancer is to get more granular data. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we are looking at counties as a whole, that is useful for identifying patterns, but we want to understand direct exposure to individuals for more precise exposure estimates,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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