Chris Jones: The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality

The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality – Chris Jones – Foreword by Tom Philpott – Ice Cube Press – 9781948509404 – 400 pages – $29.99 – June 1, 2023

When I saw the title of this book, I knew I would want to read it. How could I resist?

Ice Cube Press is an Iowa-based publisher that consistently publishes books that while often are focused on Iowa stories, readers anywhere should be reading. This book consists of a series of blog pieces written by Chris Jones while he was a Research Engineer with IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa. As a scientist, Jones knows what he is talking about, and because he has been deeply involved in water issues in Iowa, probably understands not only the hydrology but the politics, economics, and sociology of Iowa as well as anyone, maybe better.

I learned so much from this book. It is incredibly informative, and while it is absolutely only about Iowa and its water, environmental and political issues, what Jones talks about applies in so many ways to almost every place in America (and the world). Because there is so much mind-boggling information in this book, as I was reading it, I found myself telling everyone I talked to some of the amazing facts about Iowa that I had never known. And unlike alot of coastal residents, I am have actually spent time in the midwest, and have been to Iowa more than a few times.

Every one of you who reads this introduction and everyone who takes the time to listen to this podcast should buy and read The Swine Republic! If you don’t live in or near Iowa, it is true that alot of the contents of this book will be obscure and relate specifically to people and places you will never know. But beyond the details of water politics, stream pollution and fertilizer run-off in Iowa, and the condition of the drinking water in Iowa, the meta-story (or subtext if you prefer) here is about how modern industry and industrial agriculture have grown too powerful, and how we as citizens must find ways to force ourselves and the structure of our civilization to change – or else, as it seems to me, the changes will be forced upon us in ways that we cannot fully grasp now, but which we can be certain will be more painful when they are upon us.

If you’re like me, when you think of “Iowa,” you immediately visualize farms, rolling hills of corn, and rural life at its most quintessentially American. Of course this is complete nonsense and has been for a very long time, but I doubt that even most Iowans don’t share that image. In reality, Iowa, as Chris Jones describes it, is really a feat of engineering, a vast hydrological construction topped by immense amounts of chemical fertilizer and animal waste that pollutes the groundwater and waterways of the state while agribusiness interests reap equally vast profits and its citizens, landscape and wildlife suffer the consequences.

There are way more pigs in Iowa than people, and as Jones points out, the animal waste produced by Iowa’s pigs, cows, turkeys and chickens is about equal to what a human population of 168 million produces. Unreal. Aside from the incredible data and facts you will learn, you will also gain a much clearer understanding of the intricacies of power and money in modern American agriculture, truly from the ground up. It is not a pretty picture. I really enjoyed reading this book, meeting Chris Jones and talking to him for Writerscast. I am sure we could have gone on for many more hours and I wish we could have done that. Please take a listen.

Chris Jones holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Montana State University and a BA in chemistry and biology from Simpson College. Previous career stops include the Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa Soybean Association. As an avid outdoorsman, he enjoys fishing, bird watching, gardening, and mushroom hunting in both Iowa and Wisconsin. While he spends most of his time in Iowa City, he is especially fond of the Upper Mississippi River and the Driftless Area of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He recently retired from the Univ. of Iowa.

“Truly brilliant—new ways of thinking about stuff that’s right in front of us. I guarantee this will make you see not just the Midwest but the whole world considerably differently.”—Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature

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