The Jungle Dbq

It is hard to imagine that there was once a time when meat and meat-like products were butchered and processed in unsanitary conditions, but there was such a time and it was so bad that Congress had to pass the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 to stop these unsanitary conditions. In this paper I will argue why the passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was such a good idea.

Have you ever been in a rush, low on cash, and looking for something to eat so you didn’t really have a choice but to grab a burger with fries at your local fast food place? Have you ever paused or stopped to think about where the burger really came from, or the process that went in to be made? The Food Inc documentary investigates and exposes the American industrial production of meat, grains, and vegetables. Robert Kenner the producer of the film makes allegations in this film and he explores how food industries are deliberately hiding how and where it is our food is coming from. He emphasizes that we should find out where our food comes from and why is it that the food industry does not want us to know. Food Inc. does not only uses compelling images, such as hundreds of baby chickens being raised in spaces where they do not see an inch of sunlight, it also includes the speeches and stories of farmers, families, government officials, and victims of the food industry. The four current problems facing today’s food industry are the reformed usage of the false advertisement within the labeling of products , mistreatment of farmed animals, and the harmful chemical in our meats. The documentary Food Inc uses very persuasive tactics that demonstrates strong elements of pathos, ethos, and logos make an effective appeal, while uncovering the dark side of the food industry.

The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was an attempt to regulate the meatpacking industry and to assure consumers that the meat they were eating was safe. In brief, this act made compulsory the careful inspection of meat before its consummation, established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and processing plants, and required continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of meat processing and packaging. Yet, the most important objectives set by the law are the prevention of adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being commercialized and sold as food, and the making sure that meat and all its products are processed and prepared in the adequate sanitary and hygienic conditions (Reeves 35). Imported meat and its various

Since the industrial revolution, our country has made tremendous strides to ensure Equal Employment Opportunity and safe work environments. Horror stories of unfair treatment and unsafe work environments are portrayed in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”. Factory working conditions are portrayed as men, women, and child work long hours in unsafe conditions with no worker rights whatsoever (Sinclair, 2011). As workers died in the factory or were injured, another warm body was placed in their position (Sinclair, 2011). Wages were almost nonexistent (Sinclair, 2011). It is because of unsafe working environments, low wages, long hours, etc. that the government decided to intervene and create various regulatory groups. As we

The book The Jungle, not to be confused with The Jungle Book, is a story by Upton Sinclair. It is a story that revolves around a family from Lithuania that moves to America to live out the American Dream. The protagonist of this story is a man named Jurgis Rudkus, he is an immigrant from Lithuania who comes to America with Ona,who is his fiancee, her stepmother, five children, his future brother-in-law, cousin, and with his father. They hope to be successful and thrive in America. They reach the Chicago stockyards and they find a place to stay, which is not the best of places. Jurgis finds a job very quickly at a meatpacking plant due to his physical strength and it gives the family hope that everything will be good for them. Marija, Onas cousin, gets a job as a can painter and the rest of the family tries very hard to find work to get out of their terrible living conditions.

People today believe that the government is supposed to eliminate any possible danger from the food they consume, but that is not the case. In the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of The All-American Meal written by Eric Schlosser, he discusses numerous problems with food production. Some of these issues are discussed in the “Epilogue”, “What’s In Meat”, and “Most Dangerous Job” chapters where Schlosser elaborates on the government’s role and how workers are mistreated. In the article, “U.S. Meatpacking Under Fire: Human Rights Group Calls for Line Speed Reduction, ERGO Standards,” it explains how the working conditions in the meat packaging industry are hazardous and are violations of basic human rights. Although workers are affected by the government’s role in the food industry, consumers are affected as well. The consequences of the lack of governmental oversight, like food contamination and others, are discussed in the film Food Inc. “Escaping the Regulatory Net: Why Regulatory Reform Can Fail Consumers”, an academic journal written by Henry Rothstein, explains how “putting consumers first” is difficult for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to accomplish because with consumer’s interests that means regulatory reforms are most likely going to fail.

The United States prides itself on being an advanced society and helping both its citizens and foreign nations. However, some of the biggest problems facing the world today stem from sources often overlooked or even purposefully neglected by the American government. One of these sources is animal agriculture. Animal industries such as those which produce meat, dairy, seafood, and eggs are some of the main contributors to environmental decay, health epidemics, and even world hunger issues. Although proof of this is abundant, it continues to be ignored. Instead, we continue to go around the main problem and struggle to find alternate solutions only to arrive at inefficient and costly attempts. If we want our nation to truly represent its values, however, something must be done. In order to help solve issues regarding health, hunger, and the environment not only in America but in the world, the mass production of animal products should be outlawed.

Let me ask you a question. What is your favorite food? If you live in America, chances are the hamburger either tops the list or is located near it. But how much do you know about how that hamburger gets to your plate. Don’t be ashamed if you don’t know much due to the way in which food is produced. The disconnection with food has resulted in Americans knowing very little about how their food is brought to their table. With the growing number of scientific findings arising on the environmental damages of food production, it is now the role of a responsible consumers to understand where their food choices stand. Beef offers a textbook example of the inefficiencies in our food production and the need for consumers to make voluntary changes.

Food born illnesses are a killer today. Factory farms are not mandated by the government to run bacteria tests on their food products and with having nothing to make sure rules are followed private companies can say whatever they want to make it seem like they are creating a universal product with no problems. The way meat is stripped off the bones of the carcasses are through machinery with knives or with other utensils and are usually left untouched after being used and are cleaned once in a long while because the process of cleaning every bit of machine would take too long and companies do not want to spend money on things like that. What companies do to their meat is instead of cleaning the machines that they believe putting their meat through ammonia baths will result in a faultless system that will protect them from a food illness outbreak. Pathogens are spread like wild fire in farming facilities and even after going through the chemical baths there is no way to test that there is no bacteria on every product. Stated in the movie Food Inc. “In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food inspections, and in 2006 the FDA conducted 9,164”. The government that is supposed to protect the wellbeing of Americans has been lacking for quite some time and has lost its focus on what it should be for us. Leading into what is truly affecting us the most prevalent bacteria seen in the food industry are salmonella which come from chicken products and E. coli which come

In America, our everyday lives tend to revolve around our food choices. The average consumer veers towards the quick and easy food options. Without prior knowledge, an individual could be consuming contaminated meat products that were produced on a factory farm. Since the 1960’s, factory farming has accounted for over 99% of the meat sold in the United States (Zacharias, 2011). The move towards large, factory farms saves meat industry millions of dollars a day. These farms pose a huge risk to public health and environmental safety. Currently, four major companies produce 85% of all the beef in the United States (Bernice, 2014). It is important to examine how these companies are treating the animals we will ultimately consume. Knowing what these animals are fed, the conditions they are kept in and the effect that these factory farms have on the environment is essential for our health. But are there other options other than Big Ag corporations? Smaller, family owned farms might be the key to better nutrition and a smaller, ecofriendly footprint.

Society has easily turned a blind eye towards the unspoken ways animals are treated in farming industries today. Have you ever wondered how the meat in your local supermarket was produced? In a world with a vast majority of meat consumers, the concept of how or where meat is being treated is commonly unknown, or ignored.

Meat has more of an impact on our environment, than any other food that we consume. Meat consumption is increasing in America, and with so many mouths to feed there is a greater demand for it. Massive production leads to the purchase of poultry and allows consumers to get it quicker for a less price (buzzle.com). But although the low prices make consumers happy and allows them to buy the produce, sometimes large quantities at a time, it is proven to be poor in quality and a risk factor for human health. Animals are kept in a confined area with very little space to move, because of the animals leaving conditions they experience stress, boredom and aggression. In order to curb the aggression and conceal the disease that result from poor leaving conditions and to stimulate the growth of animals the animals are given drugs. Farmers get payed more for large breast and thighs, so as a result they breed the animals to be heavy, and the chicken’s bones cannot hold up the amount of weight that the chicken has. Some cannot stand due to the excessive weight and some of their legs break. Since the produce is not natural it results to poor quality items. Due to diseases with in the confined areas animals such as cows, chickens, and pigs are injected with antibiotics in order to make them vulnerable to disease (icanimal.org). It is possible for the animals to catch infections, and spread these infections to other animals due to the unsanitary leaving conditions (buzzle.com). All these factors contribute to poor quality meat which can result to health problems for the

Traditional homestyle foods have completely changed. From growing our own crops and taking the time to properly cook our own food, to buying processed foods at shopping markets or simply going out to eat at fast food drive thru’s. It is safe to say that us humans used to eat healthy, but as time has passed we have let food industries manipulate and complicate our minds with marketing and food labels. Especially when regarding meat. We still seem to be mostly concerned about the intake of meat consumption while not even hesitating to question where exactly it came from or if it is even safe enough for us to consume. Food recalls and food inspections are great steps to ensuring one’s better health, but regulations should really be of our concern. It should be aware that the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has regulated meat and poultry processing for over a century now. The reason for doing so is to prevent chemicals, harmful substances, and pathogens from entering our daily food products.

Many people do not realize or take in to consideration that their health is at risk when buying food. The food that is most concerning to buy are foods such as meats. Industrial production of food is being done in an unethical manner and in turn, is sharing the health problems and risks that are arising because of these food operations. Why are these animals being mistreated and why aren’t American people more upset about this? Shouldn’t there be better laws and regulations in place to protect not only our health but animals as well? People are consuming meat and poultry everyday and are not aware of these careless production practices. Mistreatment of animals that we consume means that these animals are not properly being taken care of. Industrial production of food is being done in an unethical manner and in turn, is sharing the health and environmental problems and risks because of these food

Meat production is one of the largest factors contributing to environmental degradation, and consumption is the primary cause for a striking amount of chronic diseases found in humans. Christopher Hyner, Managing Editor of Georgetown Environmental Law Review, states, “Climate change. Ocean dead zones. Fisheries depletion. Species extinction. Deforestation. World hunger. Food safety. Heart disease. Obesity. Diabetes. The list goes on. There is one issue at the heart of all these global problems that is too often overlooked by private individuals and policymakers alike—our demand for and reliance on animal products.” The negative impact of meat production on the environment are often hidden by the cheap prices of meat in grocery stores across the U.S. and by massive corporate factories in which the livestock are produced. These prices provided by major corporations do not show the hidden detriment that meat production is having on the environment, as well as the products negative health impact on the human population. The air and water pollution from feedlot runoff, energy and water expenditures, and the damage that meat production can have on our livelihood and the sustainability of our planet cannot go unnoticed for the sake of our world's future. By increasing public awareness on the negative effects of large scale livestock production and excessive meat consumption, our generation and those to come have the potential to massively influence both health and environmental