The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta recently did a meticulous study in California.^* CDC scientists isolated a specific strain of salmonella resistant to a particular antibiotic in hospital patients, in the hamburger they had previously eaten, at the abattoirs where the animals were slaughtered, and finally at the "dairies that sent cows for slaughter on days when culture-positive products were processed." These dairies were associated with the use of this particular antibiotic (i.e. "antimicrobial") in their animals’ feed. The researchers concluded that "food animals are a major source of antimicrobial-resistant salmonella infections in humans and that these infections are associated with antimicrobial use on farms." This complete linkage of an epidemic strain of salmonella from the sick patients right back to the farms is most impressive.

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* Spika, John S., MD, et al., "Chloramphenicol-Resistant Salmonella Newport Traced through Hamburger to Dairy Farms," The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 316, No. 10, March 5, 1987, pp. 565-70.