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Genetically modified food products involve introducing antibiotic resistance genes into the crop. When the silage is subsequently tilled into the soil, these genes are readily picked up by soil bacteria; most bacterial species are fairly adept at "trying out" samples of DNA from their environment. Coupled with the outrageous antibiotic use, this could be a part of the explanation for the surge in antibiotic resistance. When a population of bacteria is challenged with antibiotics, there are likely to be many individuals with resistance to pass on, courtesy of Monsanto.
By the way Carrie, while most people infected with MRSA are elderly or immunosuppressed, not all are. When I was 21 and as fit as could be (200 mile bike rides were routine), I nearly lost a foot to staph. I did temporarily misplace one-fouth of my body-weight. Eight years later I was struck again. Lucky for me, neither case was MRSA, just good old-fashioned drug-sensitive staph.
While I'm rambling, my sister-in-law got a community-caused MRSA infection from a river guide. Since he didn't have health insurance, he went on to infect many others before he was cured. Our lack of universal health care may speed the spread of any and every nasty infection that comes along.
