On March 25th, our friends at the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement released their joint report: “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis.” This report revealed a troubling truth: Iowa now has one of the highest and fastest‑rising cancer rates in the nation. Scientific research links this crisis to environmental exposures including pesticides, nitrates in our water, PFAS “forever chemicals,” and radon in our homes that are affecting communities across the state.
We all know someone who has received a cancer diagnosis, whether that’s a friend, a family member, a member of our faith community.
This report confirms what many of us have felt in our hearts: the risks facing Iowans are real, widespread, and preventable.
Rising cancer rates take away from our vision of a healthy, just, and sustainable future for all, and they underscore the urgent need to act. For people of diverse faith and spirituality, this is more than a public health issue: it is a moral call to care for our neighbors and to be good stewards of Iowa’s environment. You can read the executive summary or the full report.
The report calls for action on multiple fronts. Policy recommendations include strengthening water and air quality standards, reforming agricultural and industrial practices to limit harmful chemical runoff, expanding radon testing and mitigation, and increasing public access to information about environmental risks. It also highlights individual and household actions that can be applied to houses of worship, such as testing private wells, minimizing pesticide use, choosing PFAS-free products, and reducing exposure to radon in homes. Making sure you have safe water to use during times when nitrate levels are high, even during something as ordinary as coffee hour after a service, is a simple and powerful way to love your neighbor. Together, these measures can help lower environmental exposures and protect health for all Iowans.
Faith communities can take meaningful steps to reduce environmental risks in their buildings, including their parsonages. Houses of worship can minimize pesticide use on their property, test their buildings for radon regularly and at random times during the year, and implement mitigation measures if needed. Supporting scientific research and understanding how your faith tradition integrates science and faith strengthens both action and witness.
Iowans of diverse faith and spirituality can also engage in advocacy and policy efforts to protect the wider community. This includes supporting increased funding for programs that safeguard drinking water, soil, and air, such as expanded water treatment and well remediation for low-income Iowans, and backing legislation that expands free or subsidized radon testing and mitigation. Congregations can encourage members to engage with candidates running for office and ask about their support for environmental health programs. By combining practical steps on church property with public advocacy, faith communities can live out their calling to care for neighbors, protect Iowa’s environment, and work toward a healthy, just, and sustainable future for all.
We are still processing the full scope of this report and what it means for our work and our supporters like you. As we do, we anticipate identifying additional action steps, both at the congregational level and in broader advocacy efforts, as well as practical ways we can support communities in reducing environmental exposures. We look forward to sharing these opportunities and continuing to work together to care for neighbors and protect Iowa’s environment.