Hurt Farmers Overturn Tomato Crop

July 10, 2008— -- Tomato growers blame the government for killing their crop.

Farmer Mike Gardoni buried his tomato crop Wednesday, uprooting hundreds of acres of perfectly healthy tomatoes on his farm just south of Bakersfield, Calif.

"It tears me apart. I put a lot of effort into this crop and to watch it just mowed down," Gardoni said. "It's hard -- it's not an easy thing to do."

Gardoni blames the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's warning that tomatoes may have caused the salmonella outbreak for the damage he has suffered.

Watch this story on ABC's "World News" tonight, July 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Since the start of July the number of salmonella cases has grown from 869 to 1,017 through Wednesday. For every confirmed case, the CDC estimates that many more go unreported. So it's likely that tens of thousands of people have actually been sickened. The CDC also reported that the outbreak has spread to 41 states.

While the CDC and FDA pinpointed tomatoes as the likely source and warned consumers against eating raw tomatoes, their investigation has proved inconclusive. Officials expanded the scope of their study to include raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, as well as cilantro. Officials say that jalapenos contributed to some salmonella cases, which has further angered tomato growers who believe their crop has been unjustly singled out.

"It's a serious problem, and the FDA needs to come clean here," Gardoni said. "There should be congressional investigations and, frankly, this whole mess should be declared a disaster."

Gardoni's family farm, which stretches back four generations, stands to loose millions of dollars from plowing these fields under. Consumers' fear of tomatoes has made the farm's tomato crop unmarketable, Gardoni said.

"The government should be in the process of helping American agriculture," Gardoni said. "They shouldn't be in the business of putting us out of business."

Gardoni's personal hardship and frustration are being felt on farms across the country. Farmers and professionals predict that the tomato market will never completely recover.