http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

This article was on the New York Times website today.
A 22 year old woman was paralyzed after getting E. Coli from a contaminated hamburger in 2007.

As Michael Pollan discussed in his book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" the article also explains how E. Coli forms from the meat.
"As with other slaughterhouses, the potential for contamination is present every step of the way, according to workers and federal inspectors. The cattle often arrive with smears of feedlot feces that harbor the E. coli pathogen, and the hide must be removed carefully to keep it off the meat. This is especially critical for trimmings sliced from the outer surface of the carcass."

I'm starting to think that maybe I won't be eating cows for a while , or at least ones that don't come from Costco.