Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking The Meat-Packing Industry

Investigative Journalists Uncover Food Safety Concerns

Investigative Journalism is the strongest factor for health in the food industry, both for the lives in the past, as well as today. Before the turn of the 20th century, there were cases of extreme health concerns exposed by investigators. The most widely known food investigator is Upton Sinclair, who uncovered the horrors of the meat-packing industry in 1904. Investigative journalists have uncovered the dirt and corruption in many food businesses, which has led to the creation of new and widely improved food and drug legislations, as well as the making of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Investigative journalists have shed light upon the wrongdoings in the food industry that prove

to be unsanitary and/or unhealthy. For Upton Sinclair, he discovered the terrors being operated inside the meat-packing industry. According to Robert W. Cherny’s article “The Jungle and the Progressive Era”: in 1904, the socialist newspaper, the Appeal to Reason offered Upton Sinclair $500 to produce an expose that covered the meat-packing industry. For seven weeks, Sinclair stealthily searched the streets of Packingtown, which was the residential district next to the stockyards and packing plants. He wore the disguise of overalls and posed as a worker, then slipped into the packing plants to gain first hand experience from the people that worked there. To gain expert knowledge on the life in Packingtown, Sinclair sought out police officers, social workers, and physicians. When Sinclair was finished with his investigative seven weeks, he returned to his home in New Jersey, enclosed himself in a small cabin, and continued writing for nine months (Cherny). His writings would later be the making of his manuscript famously known as The Jungle ("Upton Sinclair Biography”). Sinclair’s The Jungle is a fictionalized account of the real events in which occurred in the famous Chicago meat-packing factory (Constitutional Rights Foundation).
“The animal carcasses moved continuously on hooks until processed into fresh, smoked, salted, pickled, and canned meats. The organs, bones, fat, and other scraps ended up as lard, soap, and fertilizer. The workers said that the meat-packing companies "used everything but the squeal." (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”)
Upton Sinclair wrote that the meat used to stuff cans and construct the sausage was set in heaps on the floor. Following that, the meat was then to be carried away in “carts containing sawdust, human spit and urine, rat dung, rat poison, and even dead rats.” (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”).
According to “Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”, The Jungle, was published as a serial in the Appeal to Reason in 1905 then released as a book in 1906.

After the publication, sales skyrocketed. The public was mortified by the gruesome happenings inside the meat-packing industry. Sinclair was alarmed by the response, however, because he viewed that the public had eyes only for the condition of the meat, and little for the troubles of factory workers. Sinclair said, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing

Industry”).
Along with the voices of the people, former President, Theodore Roosevelt, replied to the events in the special commission's report with “revolting” (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”). In a letter addressed to Congress, he stated that there needs to be a law present that enables members of the Federal Government to inspect and supervise “from the hoof to the can” the production of meat products (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”). Roosevelt carried on with the new Meat Inspection Act of 1906, regardless of the meat-packers’ resistance (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”). According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the law certified inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prevent any atrocious or mislabeled food from entering interstate or foreign commerce. Following the passing of the Meat Inspection Act, it paved a path for Congress to approve a long-blocked law that was created to regulate most other foods and drugs (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”). For more than 20 years, Harvey W. Wiley, chief chemist at the Department of Agriculture, had led a “pure food crusade”. He and his "Poison Squad" had tested chemicals that were added to preserve foods; but instead, found that many of the added chemicals were dangerous to human health (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”). On June 30th, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a law regulating foods and drugs, which was the same day he signed the Meat Inspection Act. “The Pure Food and Drug Act regulated food additives and prohibited misleading labeling of food and drugs. This law led to the formation of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).” (“Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry”)
Thanks to Upton Sinclair, laws have been made to regulate how food is made and labeled through the FDA.

Though his work had done wonders for the food we eat, is it accurate to say that the food produced after these laws were created is safe to consume? According to journalist, James Andrews: In 1994, Beef Products Inc. (BPI) CEO, “Eldon Roth, started developing a pH Enhancement System to reduce the number of pathogens in beef.” Which soon led to the introduction of Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB); and is known for another name, “pink slime” (Andrews). According to Josh Sanburn, below explains the creation of

LFBT:
“BPI made its product by spinning discarded beef scraps in a centrifuge to separate the lean, edible trimmings and then treating the result with ammonium hydroxide meant to kill food-borne pathogens.” (Sanburn)
In 2001, the “FDA and USDA approve BPI’s pH Enhancement System to treat lean beef with ammonium hydroxide as a processing aid meant to eliminate pathogens.” (Andrews). Earlier in 1974, the FDA declared food grade ammonium hydroxide safe for consumption. In 2002, a BPI plant had made a logistical error; which resulted in 13 boxes of contaminated LFTB meat being released to public consumers instead of its planned arrival at the rendering plant. Though the company recalled the meat, none of it was returned, which led to believe that it was consumed with no reported illnesses (Andrews). “USDA microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein tours a BPI plant as part of an investigation into recent contamination” (Andrews). Following his visit, Zirnstein comes up with the name “pink slime”, displayed in an e-mail to his colleagues, where he adds: “I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef, and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling.” (Andrews). Through the next years, E. coli O157 has been reported to be found in BPI product; three times in which were reported by Federal school officials, resulting in the stopped shipments of LFTB meat (in 2006, 2008, and 2009) (Andrews).
Multiple media outlets released articles and coverage on the issues of “pink slime”; including outlets such as like the Washington Post, New York Times, The Daily, and an investigative segment from ABC News, among others Andrews). On March 25th, 2012, BPI announces that it will suspend operations at its plants in Texas, Kansas, and Iowa for 60 days, leaving one plant in Nebraska, due to the fall in business (Andrews). The action resulted in a decrease in BPI’s production by 70 percent (Andrews).
“The Center for Food Safety organization (CFS) applauded a bill introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) Friday that would require the labeling of lean finely textured beef (LFTB)” (Rep. Pingree Introduces Legislation to Require Labeling of "Pink Slime"). “The Requiring Easy and Accurate Labeling of Beef Act (REAL Beef Act) would require any beef containing ‘finely textured ground beef’ to be labeled at final sale” (Rep. Pingree Introduces Legislation to Require Labeling of "Pink Slime"). Michele Simon says “This bill helps shed light on a process that has remained hidden for far too long.” (“Rep. Pingree Introduces Legislation to Require Labeling of "Pink Slime"). On April 2, 2012, the USDA approves labeling for meat that contains LFTB (Andrews).
Investigative journalists have done so much in the world to change things for the better, by digging up the dirt and exposing the wrong. Thanks to people like Upton Sinclair, Gerald Zirnstein, and other investigators, we can be confident that we can receive the truth from better sources about the food we eat. As discovered, you never know if what you are being told is the truth no matter how much convincing is behind it. Do some digging for yourself and see what you find; there is always something new to uncover. So, without the determined and lengthful work of investigative journalists, where would we be today?