The Meat Industry In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
The preparation and process in which our food is made are often taken for granted. Today, consumers assume that their food was prepared in a clean and humane way. Just some hundred years ago, however, this was not the case. Even in the United States, food was being prepared in conditions that were unthinkable to the common citizen. How did we go from a system that had so little oversight to one of almost unthinkable supervision by the government? The answer came via an enterprising young writer named Upton Sinclair. Sinclair’s publication, The Jungle, shined a light into the dark and dreary life of a meat packer in Chicago. The Jungle horrified and disgusted readers. The book even had implications on the federal level. President Theodore Roosevelt,
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His work spread around the globe, especially to those who did business with America. The Jungle had major effects on the economy of the United States. Overseas, other countries were as horrified as the American public. The American meat industry was hindered economically on a global scale. Michael Hussey, author of Global Muckraking, described the situation saying, "U.S. industrialists also reacted with dismay to the possible loss to the American economy from the publicity regarding meatpacking processes" (Hussey). American industry was threatened due to the work of one junior journalist. The threat became reality soon enough. "In Germany, for example, the German Butchers' Association petitioned the government not to enter into a treaty with the United States that would allow for increased imports of American beef" (Hussey). With business losses around the world, factories were forced to make improvements to their practices. Sinclair’s The Jungle had serious economic implications around the globe. From Europe to the ends of Asia, American investors and consumers were repulsed. Sinclair’s goals had nearly come to fruition. He was changing the world for the better. He was helping workers and cleaning up factories. Unfortunately for Sinclair, Capitalism still guided the American economy and society. Socialism was never adopted as he had hoped. Despite that, his work still managed to have major global consequences. American businesses lost major revenue and were forced to make changes. The American meat industry took the largest hit in its history all due to Upton Sinclair and his exposé on the meat
His work spread around the globe, especially to those who did business with America. The Jungle had major effects on the economy of the United States. Overseas, other countries were as horrified as the American public. The American meat industry was hindered economically on a global scale. Michael Hussey, author of Global Muckraking, described the situation saying, "U.S. industrialists also reacted with dismay to the possible loss to the American economy from the publicity regarding meatpacking processes" (Hussey). American industry was threatened due to the work of one junior journalist. The threat became reality soon enough. "In Germany, for example, the German Butchers' Association petitioned the government not to enter into a treaty with the United States that would allow for increased imports of American beef" (Hussey). With business losses around the world, factories were forced to make improvements to their practices. Sinclair’s The Jungle had serious economic implications around the globe. From Europe to the ends of Asia, American investors and consumers were repulsed. Sinclair’s goals had nearly come to fruition. He was changing the world for the better. He was helping workers and cleaning up factories. Unfortunately for Sinclair, Capitalism still guided the American economy and society. Socialism was never adopted as he had hoped. Despite that, his work still managed to have major global consequences. American businesses lost major revenue and were forced to make changes. The American meat industry took the largest hit in its history all due to Upton Sinclair and his exposé on the meat