Modern Moral Economies in the Corn Belt: Myths and Narratives of Commodity Agriculture in Iowa

Keywords: Iowa, agriculture, moral economy, water quality, narratives
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 69

Abstract

In 2015, after over 50 years of dealing with increasing levels of nitrates, the largest water utility in the state of Iowa filed a federal lawsuit against three upstream, agricultural counties, alleging that the drainage districts in those counties had violated federal standards set by the Clean Water Act, compromising the safety and availability of the drinking water for over half a million people living in and around the state capitol. Although this suit was dismissed, the action prompted on-going debates among Iowans and created a nationally salient conflict between municipal and agricultural water users. State policy-makers, including the governor and members of the legislature, amplified the ‘urban versus rural’ framing of the lawsuit, obscuring the imbricated spatial arrangement that actually exists on the Iowa landscape and fomenting bitter, politically-charged divisions. In response to the allegation that their management practices contaminate water, farm groups articulated their cultural and social role as “natural, historical stewards of the land”. Individual farmers echoed these sentiments, blaming urban water users for the increased nutrients and evoking their moral responsibility to “feed the world”. Through interviews with farmers and stakeholders in Iowa, this paper explores the core myths presented by politicians, farmers, and agricultural groups in response to the growing debate over water quality. I show how these three dominant narratives are used to legitimize continued production practices, unpacking the moral heritage of each ideology, tracing its evolution into the contemporary form, and contrasting its claims with on-the-ground reality in Corn Belt agriculture.