The Shawn Ryan Show #290 Zach Lahn - Inside America’s Cancer-Causing Chemical Problem
51 snips
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.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Farmers Are Being Squeezed By Design
- Zach Lahn argues repair restrictions and farm consolidation are deliberate features of a system designed to squeeze producers, not support them.
- He cites $1.5 billion in agribusiness lobbying, $150 billion in top-company profits, and 100,000 lost family farms.
Iowa Grows Very Little Food For People
- Lahn says Iowa grows almost no food people eat directly despite world-class farmland and instead prioritizes ethanol and feed.
- He claims just 0.03% of Iowa acres produce food that ends up on a plate in original form while the state imports 95% of its food.
Why Zach Lahn Bought Back His Family Farm
- Lahn traces his Iowa farm back to German immigrants, Civil War service, and a homestead his family built in 1900.
- He bought the farm back in 2014, restored it board by board, and found his grandfather's initials carved into a basement post.