Des Moines, IA — Today, on the likely final day of the Iowa legislative session, the Iowa House introduced HR 18, a dangerous resolution targeting community efforts to reform the state’s factory farming industry. The resolution asserts the House Republicans’ “commitment to … the Iowans employed in the livestock industry, and the threat that socialism poses to the rights of Iowans to make their own choices free from government coercion regarding the production of livestock and the consumption of food, including meat.” 

In response, Food & Water Watch Iowa Organizer Emma Schmit issued the following statement:

“Iowa legislators are continuing their long-held tradition of carrying water for corporate agriculture interests. While the resolution abounds with hypocrisy and hollow fear-mongering, it sets a clear tone for their future legislative prospects. This resolution is shameful and ridiculous. If our representatives truly support consumers’ right to know where their food is produced, they wouldn’t push ag-gag legislation. If they support small towns and raising wages, they would protect the independent family farmers that were once the economic bedrock of many rural communities.

“If they really hold the values they claim, Iowa’s elected officials would support community-led efforts to reform our consolidated, corporate-owned livestock industry by supporting a factory farm moratorium. Instead, the sponsors of the resolution are the same individuals that have helped to manufacture a system of agriculture where multi-billion dollar corporations, not farmers, ranchers, or everyday Iowans, dictate the policies and production of our livestock industry.”