If you read only one book about the meat industry, make it this one. The culmination of his work was the passage in 1906 of the meat inspection act, enshrined in history, or at least in history books, as a sacred cow excuse the pun of the interventionist state. Meat packing workers perform the tasks necessary to get meat ready for shipping, such as slaughtering, cutting, trimming and packaging. A protest novel he privately published in 1906, the book was a shocking revelation of intolerable labor practices and unsanitary working conditions in the chicago stockyards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. What impact did upton sinclairs book the jungle have on. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking. While animals are a point of focus of this book, i wouldnt call slaughterhouse an animal. Nov 19, 2014 the jungle by upton sinclair is a vivid and moving account of the meat processing and slaughtering industry in the early 1900s. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws. The book was a pulitzer prize winner and covered the facts of the meatpacking industry of the time. Oct 09, 2016 meat sales soared, workers wages climbed and the industry engaged consumers in a new spirit of openness and transparency. Upton sinclairs the jungle and the meatpacking industry.
Jun 09, 2018 what book exposed abuses in the meatpacking industry. The jungle as the book intended to expose the american meatpacking industry. While higher than for manufacturing overall, rates of illness and injury in meat and poultry processing fell to an estimated 5. Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the united states in chicago and similar industrialized cities. An ardent activist, champion of political reform, novelist, and progressive journalist, upton sinclair is perhaps best known today for the jungle his devastating expose of the meatpacking industry. Children as young as three were often employed and forced to work long hours sometimes 1215 hour days for very little pay. Slaughterhouse is a book about the other reality behind our demand for cheap meat, and lots of it. Upton sinclairs book the jungle remains an inspiration to journalists. Many of the meats were rancid, rat infested, and bacteria filled.
His novel, the jungle 1906, a shocking expose of the unsanitary and dangerous conditions in the plants, was an. The jungle by upton sinclair was published in 1906 and described the harrowing conditions of the meat packing industry in the united states. The law reformed the meat packing industry, mandating that the u. In 1906, upton sinclairs novel the jungle uncovered harrowing conditions inside americas meat packing plants and initiated a period of transformation in the nations meat industry. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the united states. The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968.
Gary younge on upton sinclairs 1906 novel the jungle. May 12, 2016 the jungle exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. Conditions in meatpacking plants 1906, by upton sinclairthe explosive growth of american industry in the late nineteenth century caused a similar expansion in the work force. And while there are some passages that might make your guts churn, the book isnt really about the meat industry. Largest of all was the meat packing industry in chicago. The jungle exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. However, most readers were more concerned with his exposure of health violations and unsanitary practices in the american meatpacking industry during the early 20th century. In fiscal year 2018, there were 835 federally inspected, livestock slaughter plants in the u. Cattle are first led into a narrow alley and stunned by a blow on the head, in a packing plant in austin, minnesota, 1941. What book revealed shocking secrets about the meat packing.
The jungle, a 1906 novel by upton sinclair, is full of graphic descriptions of the poor conditions workers and cattle endured in the chicago meat packing industry. Who wrote the book the jungle about the meatpacking. Slaughterhouse is the first book of its kind to explore the impact that unprecedented changes in the meatpacking industry over the last twentyfive yearsparticularly industry consolidation, increased line speeds, and deregulationhave had on workers, animals, and consumers. An additional 3,773 plants process red meat, but do not. After you look at these images of meat packing facilities from early last century, youll understand why social reformer upton sinclair wrote his great 1906 novel the jungle about workers. The big four meat packing companies centralized their operations in a few cities. It spread through acres of stockyards, feed lots, slaughterhouses, and meat processing plants.
The book won sinclair fame and fortune, launched a government investigation. The jungle caused uproar in the us meat packing industry. People said they couldnt handle reading about the nastiness of the meat industry, even though the meat industry in question existed more than 100 years ago. The final four chapters which lapse into doctrine, preaching, and recruitment dont help any in casting off the label, but otherwise the book goes well beyond the socialist politics which motivated. Study 16 terms upton sinclair and the jungle flashcards. Sep 06, 2015 as the scale and size of their facilities increased, so did the dangers. Americas many stockyards were known to be filthy, and a breeding ground for diseased meat. What a disservice that this book is mostly read and remembered as a mere historical reference and expose on socialism and the meatpacking industry. Jun 30, 2016 upton sinclair, whose muckraking changed the meat industry. As a result, the government would step in and pass legislation that protected consumers from consuming unsafe food. Meant to expose the lives of immigrants, the book revealed more dangerous practices of the chicago meat packers. Nov 30, 2010 the meatpacking industry during the early 1900s was unsanitary, unregulated and incredibly dangerous work.
The year before, the journalist charles edward russells book the greatest trust in the world had detailed the greed and exploitation of a. President theodore roosevelt signed two historic bills aimed at regulating the food and drug industries into. The jungle, a 1906 novel by upton sinclair, is full of graphic descriptions of the poor conditions workers and cattle endured in the chicago meatpacking industry. From what i gathered, it had something to do with the meat industry and its. Working in the meatpacking industry is the most dangerous job in america. The fight over transparency in the meat industry the new. Who wrote the book the jungle about the meatpacking industry. Upton sinclairs book, the jungle, created a public response. September 20, 1878 november 25, 1968 was an american writer who wrote nearly 100 books and other works. Sinclairs novel, the jungle 1906, based on his newspaper reporting, exposed the inner workings of the meat packing industry. The jungle is a wellinformed critique on the social, political, and economic issues of the food industry and the rapidly developing capitalist society of the earl 20th century. The law reformed the meatpacking industry, mandating that the u.
Working conditions in the new urban industrial zones were wretched, and a progressive reform movement soon grew out of the need to address the health and welfare of the american worker. Oct 31, 2014 sinclairs jungle was unregulated enterprise. The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. May 27, 2016 just how dangerous is meat and poultry packing. It provides a systematic account of meat science from the conception of the animal until human consumption. Together with the nearby housing area where the workers lived, this part of chicago was known as packingtown. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to.
Upton sinclair, whose muckraking changed the meat industry. May 07, 2019 the year before, the journalist charles edward russells book the greatest trust in the world had detailed the greed and exploitation of a packing industry that came to the american dining table. A century after the publication of the jungle abusive working conditions and treatment still torment a mostly immigrant labour force in the american meatpacking industry. A family working in the meat packing industry, exposing what really happened in the industry.
This book led to the meat inspection act and the pure food and drug act of 1906, which eventualy led to the food and drug. Gary younge on upton sinclairs 1906 novel the jungle books. Jun 12, 2018 what book exposed abuses in the meatpacking industry. Enforcing simple things like hand washing and requiring the use of hairnets were unheard of. The jungle, upton sinclair the jungle is a 1906 novel written by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968. Unskilled immigrants executed all the hazardous work, in dark and extremely hot rooms. Schlosser notes, throughout the chapter, that it is actually quite difficult to track the source of foodborne pathogens in the united states. Constitutional rights foundation bill of rights in action fall 2008 volume 24, no. Jul 22, 2017 it was a major indictment of the meat packing industry.
The jungle was first published in 1905 as a serial in the appeal to reason and then as a book in. Get an answer for what impact did upton sinclairs book the jungle have on changing the way we look at the food industry. What was the reason congress passed the purefooddrug bill. The jungle, muckrakers, and teddy roosevelt nehedsitement. The outrage that the book caused has often been singled out as the main reason for the passage of legislation to protect consumers. Schlosser next focuses on the safety not just of factory workers in the meatpacking industry, but of the meat itself that that industry produces. The meat industry in the united states is a powerful political force, both in the legislative and the regulatory arena, even though the way they wield that power is different from many industries. This greater part of the entire meat industry is primarily focused on producing meat for human consumption, but it also yields a variety of byproducts. By the 1880s, the european meat markets closed their doors to imported american meat. The jungle by upton sinclair was published in 1906 and described the harrowing conditions of the meatpacking industry in the united states. Theodore roosevelt on june 30, 1906, that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured that livestock were slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions.
What was two laws that resulted from upton sinclairs the. The history of the meat packing industry of the midwest offers an excellent illustration of the growth and development of the economy of that major industrial region. They know that the odd bits of meat that are too spoiled to be sold are chopped up into sausage or else canned. Jungle, a report on the dirty conditions in the chicago meatpacking industry. Aug 04, 2006 gary younge on why upton sinclairs 1906 novel the jungle caused uproar in the us meat packing industry. A protest novel he privately published in 1906, the book was a shocking revelation of intolerable labor practices and unsanitary working. It doesnt compile data on meat and poultry sanitation workers who might not be classified in the industry if they work for outside contractors.
The scraps of an animal ended up in lard, soap, and fertilizer. After the book s publication, there were many laws. History of the american meat industry census data on the meat packing industry distribution of meat packing plants by states competition in the meat packing industry profits in the meat packing industry packinghouse operations exports and imports of meat and lard meat and live stock around the world meat in the diet the. The jungle is a novel by upton sinclair, published serially in 1905 and as a book in 1906. By the late 1990s, the meat packing industry had consolidated such that the top four firms accounted for approximately 50 percent of all u. The family now knows the secrets of the meat packing industry.
Largest of all was the meatpacking industry in chicago. Overall this is one of the best books available on the subject of meat. Conditions in meatpacking plants 1906, by upton sinclair. Reference book of the meat packing industry book, 1938. What book exposed abuses in the meatpacking industry. Grocery stores rely on the meat packing industry to provide them with manageable quantities of meat that they can refine to offer mealsized portions to consumers. Sinclairs book was so moving and troubling that it inspired the establishment of the food and drug administration, a federal agency that is to this day responsible for regulating. Workers stood on floors covered with blood, meat scraps, and foul water bria 24 1 b upton sinclairs the jungle.
His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working. The meat and poultry industry is the largest segment of u. Meat packing blues a book examines when chicago was the king of. In the course of one generation, meat packing matured from a smallscale, parttime activity to a specialized manufacturing operation. Sinclair wrote the novel jungle to portray the harsh conditions and unfair lives of immagrants in the us in chicago.