The Shawn Ryan Show #290 Zach Lahn - Inside America’s Cancer-Causing Chemical Problem
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Mar 23, 2026 
Zach Lahn, sixth-generation Iowa farmer and first-time governor candidate, dives into who really controls American farmland. He talks repair lockouts on farm equipment, investor and foreign land grabs, paraquat and glyphosate fears, cancer and polluted water in Iowa, and why family farms and rural towns are being pushed to the brink.
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Iowa First Means No Subsidies For Foreign Firms
- Lahn frames Iowa First as refusing subsidies for foreign-owned firms while backing local entrepreneurs and suing federal overreach.
- He highlights Syngenta, owned by China, receiving $7.5 million in Iowa refundable tax credits despite competing with Iowa businesses.
Data Centers Replace Farms With Thin Local Returns
- Lahn says family farms are often bulldozed and replaced by projects like data centers that deliver little local value.
- He points to Cedar Rapids giving one data center $529 million in tax rebates for just 30 contractually required jobs.
Donation Dependence Destroys Trust Before Votes Happen
- Lahn says campaign donations distort representation long before any vote is cast because voters assume funded politicians will eventually betray them.
- He refuses money from agribusiness interests and says he cannot credibly fight cancer and monopolies while taking their cash.