The Meat Packing Industry In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
The Jungle
In the 1900s the working conditions for foreigners and natural born citizens were unacceptable. The meat was packaged in factories crawling with disease. Upton Sinclair recognized the issues surrounding these conditions. Sinclair wrote The Jungle to inform the world about how not only the meat packing industry was flawed, but also how the working conditions of that time were flawed. Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1878. His father was an alcoholic liquor salesman and his mother did not have a job, because of this his family lived in poverty. However, he was exposed to the lives of the wealthy by visiting his mother’s wealthy family. At only ten years old Sinclair’s father made the decision …show more content…
Most of the meat was corrupted with human hair and dirt. Blood and dirt covered the floor; in the novel Sinclair says that “this floor was half an inch deep with blood” (Sinclair 32). As a result of the poor working conditions, many workers were injured while working. When a worker was injured, they received little to no medical attention. If the injury was so extreme that they could not work for a period of time, their job was given to someone else and when they healed and could work again, they did not have a job. With the poverty level at its highest, many citizens had to steal in order to survive. If they were caught, they would end up spending the night or even more in jail. In the novel Jurgis is put in jail because he started a fight with his boss, who sexually harassed Ona; He was put into jail for 30 days. While in jail, he was not able to provide his family with money, with no money they sent the children to work. In the 1900s children as young as three had to work to help their families make enough money. These children worked up to fifteen hours a day and got paid very little …show more content…
In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act was put into action. The Act required factories to have federal inspectors to check all products that were out into interstate or foreign commerce. The grading system for beef and pork came about in the 1920s. Congress made it a requirement for every state “to perform the same inspection and grading duties in plants selling within state boundaries” (Wade). The same year that the Meat Inspection Act was put into action, the Pure Food and Drug Act was also enforced. These acts lead to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the
In the 1900s the working conditions for foreigners and natural born citizens were unacceptable. The meat was packaged in factories crawling with disease. Upton Sinclair recognized the issues surrounding these conditions. Sinclair wrote The Jungle to inform the world about how not only the meat packing industry was flawed, but also how the working conditions of that time were flawed. Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1878. His father was an alcoholic liquor salesman and his mother did not have a job, because of this his family lived in poverty. However, he was exposed to the lives of the wealthy by visiting his mother’s wealthy family. At only ten years old Sinclair’s father made the decision …show more content…
Most of the meat was corrupted with human hair and dirt. Blood and dirt covered the floor; in the novel Sinclair says that “this floor was half an inch deep with blood” (Sinclair 32). As a result of the poor working conditions, many workers were injured while working. When a worker was injured, they received little to no medical attention. If the injury was so extreme that they could not work for a period of time, their job was given to someone else and when they healed and could work again, they did not have a job. With the poverty level at its highest, many citizens had to steal in order to survive. If they were caught, they would end up spending the night or even more in jail. In the novel Jurgis is put in jail because he started a fight with his boss, who sexually harassed Ona; He was put into jail for 30 days. While in jail, he was not able to provide his family with money, with no money they sent the children to work. In the 1900s children as young as three had to work to help their families make enough money. These children worked up to fifteen hours a day and got paid very little …show more content…
In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act was put into action. The Act required factories to have federal inspectors to check all products that were out into interstate or foreign commerce. The grading system for beef and pork came about in the 1920s. Congress made it a requirement for every state “to perform the same inspection and grading duties in plants selling within state boundaries” (Wade). The same year that the Meat Inspection Act was put into action, the Pure Food and Drug Act was also enforced. These acts lead to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the