On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Orne Smith explores this gap with Dr. David Cwiertny, an environmental engineer at the University of Iowa.

Toss some bags at the science-policy gap… why we find chemicals everywhere we look… and what mass balance means for Iowa's future.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and our show art is from Desirée Tapia.

*SHOW RUNDOWN:*

0:00 - Welcome: Iowa's cancer rates and chemical safety evolution

2:30 - Mass Balance Principle: Why chemicals never really disappear

5:00 - Neonicotinoids: The pesticides painted on seeds

8:00 - Atrazine Study Reversal: Same research, opposite conclusions

11:30 - The Science-Policy Gap: 20-year lag between discovery and action

14:00 - Why Simple Answers Don't Exist for Complex Problems

16:30 - Living in the "Gray Area" of Chemical Safety

18:30 - Alternative Agriculture: Different models, same profitability

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