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Upton Sinclair was able to accomplish many tasks that he may not have seen possible. With attempts from others on stopping
Sinclair'a findings from being published and speaking about the horrific and treacherous scenes of the working and sanitary
conditions in meatpacking plants, his work is still hitting the stomach and the hearts of the world today.
Under 21USC603 in the US Code, it states that animals must be examined/inspected before slaughtering to be sure that diseased
animals are not distributed for consumption. The Jungle has many shocking events that occurred, but one specifically stands
out. Due to corruption in the city of Packingtown, inspectors would let majority of meat go by with minimal, if any, inspection.
This created much needed cause for concern in which many did not know until newspapers and published pieces of literature
were being released.
Animals were not the only meat being passed through. Body parts that were cut off during manufacturing were let through
so that money was not lost during a search effort.
There were three major reasons the Meat Inspection Act was passed. First, European nations did not believe that our meat
was safe for consumption and they were absolutely right. In turn, this did not allow for businesses to grow. While fingers
were mixed in with the rest of the fresh, spoiled, and diseased meats as Sinclair indicates, this was being recognized by
Europe in some way.
Second, President Theodore Roosevelt personally inspected meat packing industries of Chicago in 1904 to see if Sinclair
was telling the truth in his studies. Unfortunately, Roosevelt encountered these horrific conditions first hand.
Finally, The Jungle was published in 1906 and caused a stir in the economy. It was the biggest deciding factor that something
had to be done. Meatpacking industries saw the worst as consumers were unwilling to purchase meat products with confidence
for years.
The Meat Inspection Act changed industry standards dramatically. Without this act, we could still be eating human body
parts and diseased meats today. Detection and destruction of diseased meat was the major purpose of this act. However other
important factors were included such as:
-Assurance of clean and sanitary handling and preparation of the meat.
-Preventing false labeling.
-Prevention of adulteration and the presence of chemical or drug residues.
The Beveridge Amendment was introduced prior to The Meat Inspection Act by Albert Beveridge. It set precedent to the
Agricultural Appropriations Bill which required constant surveillance and investigation from the USDA. Unfortunately for
the industries, they would be the ones paying for this. Today, industries have played a smarter role incorporating the cost
into the food we pay for at our grocery stores.
USDA introduced HACCP, about thirty years after NASA had been using this systematic approach. Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point, or HACCP, was developed by food microbiologists and is a systematic process to make sure that the production
process prepares food that is safe for consumers. To find current GMP, or Good Manufacturing Practice, it can be found under
21CFR110 in the Code of Federal Regulations. Today laws are enforced through agencies, but during the age of The Jungle,
loopholes were found through any sort of act.
The three sections below are rules and regulations for the Inspection of Livestock and Their Products. United States Department
of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industries, Order No. 125:
Section 1. Proprietors of slaughterhouses, canning, salting, packing, or rendering establishments engaged in the slaughtering
of cattle, sheep. or swine, or the packing of any of their products, the carcasses or products of which are to become subjects
of interstate or foreign commerce, shall make application to the Secretary of Agriculture for inspection of said animals and
their products.
Section 15. Such rejected or condemned animals shall at once be removed by the owners from the pens containing animals
which have been inspected and found to be free from disease and fit for human food, and shall be disposed of in accordance
with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of the state and municipality in which said rejected or condemned animals are located.
Section 25. A microscopic examination for trichinae shall be made of all swine products exported to countries requiring
such examination. No microscopic examination will be made of hogs slaughtered for interstate trade, but this examination shall
be confined to those intended for the export trade.
As shown in the above sections, diseased animals were not prevented from hitting the market. They were processed in a
brutal environment and distributed for consumption to consumers. Some people knew and some didn't but food is what we need
to survive. It was a survival of the fittest factor for many. Everyday laws are being passed and agencies are regulating
them to ensure safety for all.
Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and HACCP, the agencies such as GMP,FDA, and USDA today provide regulations. Human
body parts and tubercular pork is prevented from hitting our food source. The United States still face diseased products in
which recalls are then taken into action.
Agencies may not be regulating to their full capacity. Why is it that "Downers", diseased animals that are
unable to even stand at times, are found a way into our food supply. Thousand of animals each year classified as "downers"
suffer unspeakable grueling conditions at production facilities and slaughterhouses in The Jungle. We are able to stop most
of them from hitting the food supply, but as everyone saw in early 2008, it may not be bullet proof.
The Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act has been introduced in Congress. This legislation applies to all farm
animals, and has been introduced repeatedly in past legislative sessions, with great support but with little advancement due
to intense lobbying by the meat industry. With record breaking recalls such as the videotaping in February of 2008 with Westland/Hallmark
Meat Company, in which the Humane Society were able to witness the cruelty of animals classified as "downers" that
were being forklifted abusively into trucks and other areas of the slaughterhouses.
Under the USDA in 9CFR313.1 it states:
These regulations outline the requirements for the humane treatment of livestock prior to and during slaughter. Included
are the requirements for pens, holding, and transportation areas, and the special circumstances for transporting and holding
"downed" (nonambulatory) livestock. The regulations emphasize the minimization of "excitement and discomfort"
to the livestock prior to transportation or slaughter. Of special note are the requirements for humane methods of slaughter,
including the use of carbon dioxide gas, captive bolt "stunners" and projectiles, gunshot, and electrical current.
These regulations outline the requirements for the humane treatment of livestock prior to and during slaughter. Included are
the requirements for pens, holding, and transportation areas, and the special circumstances for transporting and holding "downed"
(nonambulatory) livestock. The regulations emphasize the minimization of "excitement and discomfort" to the livestock
prior to transportation or slaughter. Of special note are the requirements for humane methods of slaughter, including the
use of carbon dioxide gas, captive bolt "stunners" and projectiles, gunshot, and electrical current.
USDA, FDA, and EPA are only a few agencies under the code of the law that are designed to implement laws passed by Congress.
The Federal Meat Inspection Act and Fair Packaging and Labeling Act are just a couple laws put in place to prevent issues
such as events which occur within The Jungle. Pigs swept up using a hook on their feet and mens body parts being used as food
in the line are issues highly prevented today. Cattle being brutally falling into a pen where the surviving cattle would be
sliced open until not a flinch was seen.
"Following the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) also known as mad cow disease in Washington in
2003, the USDA took modest measures to curtail the slaughter of downed cattle for human consumption. While this was a step
in the right direction, the regulation contains loopholes big enough for some cattle and all other farm animals to be dragged
through. The law only includes some downed cattle (those who go down after arriving at the slaughterhouse may still be sent
to the kill floor). Other animals who go down may be left to die, piled atop one another for hours or even days without food,
water or veterinary care, or pushed, prodded or dragged onto the kill floor."
Source: http://www.nodowners.org/
Industry is responsible for ensuring that adequate control measures are in place for any potential hazards identified
in the HACCP system. Plant personnel are responsible for monitoring and verifying each control point, keeping accurate records,
and taking appropriate corrective actions when potentially hazardous situations are noted. The establishments management is
responsible for verifying that the HACCP plan is working properly.
Under the HACCP plan, companies are regulated by using their information in qualifying for safe and legal practices. This
is one of many measurements put in place to ensure that our food supply is safe.
Rats eating people? That's what happened in The Jungle as Sinclair depicts the working conditions of the Packingtown
people. Rats in food production and manufacturing sites violate many sectors of the law. Rats being put into our food supply
is not a great thought either. Look at how rats were killed and what happened with them afterwards. People over a hundred
years in age today have probably consumed a rat.
Whether it is HACCP in which this would be considered a serious code violation; Good Manufacturing Practice which was
designed by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which there would be serious sanitation and cleanliness
violations; or even murder. There are laws that not only prevent rodents from hitting our food supply but also bacteria and
fungus. The FDA and USDA have strict measure in labeling packing date or expiration date of a food. Whenever we look at
the food we eat we will notice and expiration date.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HACCP, and GMP would have had a problem with the working conditions in the
meat packing industry and the fertilizer plants written about in The Jungle. Horrible air quality in the fertilizer plants
or a woman having a child while waiting in line for work would cause for major concern and violations today. Before fertilizer
could be packaged, there is a gruesome process one must go through to get it together. In The Jungle, it is known as work
"that awaits for the lowest man."
Meatpacking industries would have killed off millions of people if it were not for the regulations and laws we have in
place today. However, remember that the meatpacking industries were just the start of the revolutionary changes that have
changed the way we live today. The Jungle is a great way to understand this change.
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