Food & Water Action Endorses 11 Candidates for Iowa State Legislature

Candidates oppose eminent domain for carbon pipelines, support moratorium on factory farms

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For Immediate Release

Today, the national environmental group Food & Water Action endorsed 11 candidates for Iowa state legislature:

Molly Buck (HD-41)

Molly Donahue (SD-37)

Monica Kurth (HD-98)

Kay Pence (HD-70)

Michelle Servadio Elias (HD-96)

Art Staed (HD-80)

Sharon Steckman (HD-59)

Phyllis Thede (HD-94)

Sarah Trone Garriott (SD-14)

Deb VanderGaast (SD-41)

Jessica Wiskus (SD-42)

The slate of candidates are committed to bold energy and agriculture policies that ensure a livable future for all.

All endorsed candidates oppose eminent domain for carbon pipelines. As the threat of private land condemnation for three proposed hazardous carbon pipelines grips the state, candidate opposition to eminent domain for private gain is a rallying cry among voters. Food & Water Action polling conducted in April by Change Research found that 73% of voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who supported using eminent domain to build carbon pipelines.

All endorsed candidates support a moratorium on new and expanding factory farms. A Food & Water Watch report found that factory farms’ meteoric rise in Iowa has come at the direct expense of farmers and local economies. From 1982-2017, Iowa lost nearly 90% of its hog farms, as factory farms expanded. As a result, today’s farmers earn $2 less per pound of pork than they did 40 years ago. All endorsed candidates support a transition to a just, sustainable model of agriculture that gives power to Iowans, not multi-billion dollar corporations.

With the endorsements, Food & Water Action Senior Iowa Organizer John Aspray issued the following statement:

“So much is at stake in Iowa’s midterms. Shady developers are scheming to seize private land for their hazardous carbon pipelines, and corporate factory farms are wreaking havoc on our air, water and communities. At the ballot box this fall, Iowans must come together to cast our votes against the corporate profiteering pillaging our state.

“Food & Water Action is proud to endorse a slate of progressive champions committed to fighting for a livable future for all Iowans, united against eminent domain for carbon pipelines and factory farms. Buck, Donahue, Kurth, Pence, Servadio Elias, Staed, Steckman, Thede, Trone Garriott, VanderGaast, and Wiskus are the bold leaders Iowans deserve in Des Moines.”

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]