The system is corrupt, as big agribusiness is deemed too big to regulate, as politicians maneuver for dollars and votes in the farm belt. Kristof uses the E. coli incident to draw attention to the bigger problem of massive illness and deaths from MRSA, which could well explode further from the bio-abusive overuse of antibiotics in corporate farming gone mad.

As I reviewed this commentary reading the facts do not meet as good journalism. Many facts overly broad and some are hard to say that were caused by low-level antibiotics. To work on the problem all need to try to hear and listen to each other.

I agree with the central point of this opinion piece. But it was sensationalist which diluted the impact of the underlying message.

Kristof provides numerous links to support his claims and raises awareness about an issue that doesn't seem to garner much attention when competing against more sensationalist news available at just about any hour or any day. Although it is written in an informal style, this may indeed be a plus in that it has the potential to reach a larger audience, including people who ordinarily may not open a newspaper or spend much time laboring through formally crafted "investigative" pieces.

Identifying clear solutions to significant problems (in this case, the spread of infections untreatable by antibiotics and the effect on medical costs), and the barriers that prevent implementing effective solutions (in this case, agribusiness lobbying) are an essential role of journalism. Today, Nicholas Kristof is one of the all too few journalists who plays this important role.