Sickly spill

Vegetarian Times, Jan, 2005

New antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the Great Lakes are threatening millions of people with gastrointestinal disease. That's the conclusion of an independent panel advising the United States and Canada on the condition of waterways that the two countries share. The International Joint Commission in its September 13, 2004 report said the bacteria get into the lakes through sewage and agricultural runoff and may have already sickened more people than previously thought.

Many of these illnesses go unreported because sufferers attribute their symptoms to bad food, not contaminated water.