Some vegetable crops take up antibiotics when grown in soil fertilized with animal manures, researchers at the University of Minnesota have found. Nearly 70 percent of the total antibiotics and related drugs produced in the United States are fed to livestock, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The researchers planted corn, green onions and cabbage in manure-amended soil and grew the plants for six weeks in a greenhouse. Antibiotics were absorbed readily into their leaves, suggesting that all parts of the plant would become contaminated over the course of a full growing season.

Less than 0.1 percent of antibiotics applied to soil were absorbed into the plants. But even that small amount can have unknown long-term consequences and may contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. (http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/antibiotics-in-crops)