The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair created much needed controversy during the early 20th century.

Upton Sinclair carries an introduction in which he states, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." Unfortunately for Sinclair, he brought out the filthy treatments of food instead of the people concentrating on the staggering conditions workers were faced with. Sinclair, however, may not have realized that he killed two birds with one stone.

Links above will give some information to how the new laws put into place by the government and how the agencies that regulate them helped change the way that the United States shaped the food industry.

The Jungle (1906) was an immediate success selling over 150,000 copies. Within the next few years The Jungle had been published in seventeen languages and was a best-seller all over the world.

President Theodore Roosevelt read The Jungle and ordered an investigation of the meat-packing industry. Also, Roosevelt met with Sinclair and told him that while he disapproved of the way the book preached socialism he agreed that "radical action must be taken to do away with the efforts of arrogant and selfish greed on the part of the capitalist."

With the passing of the Pure Food and Drugs Act (1906) and the Meat Inspection Act (1906), Sinclair was able to show that novelists could help change the law. This in itself inspired a tremendous growth in investigative journalism. Theodore Roosevelt became concerned at this development and described it as muckraking.

Source: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jupton.htm