Upton Sinclair's Changes In The Food Industry

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The world is a place in need of continuous improvement. Every generation contributes to this progress by bringing attention to the things that need to be changed and making sure that the necessary changes happen. In the United States, Upton Sinclair brought attention to the need for change in the food industry through his work, The Jungle. This work influenced the passing of the Pure Food Act of 1906 which addressed some of the many problems described in Sinclair’s work. Today, a documentary directed by Robert Kenner entitled Food Inc. addresses some of the problems that still need to be changed in the food industry. Though food and safety regulations have improved since the Pure Food Act of 1906, the inhumane treatment of workers and animals has worsened in the food industry. …show more content…
Many immigrants were hired by a factory in which they would work until the company viewed them as useless. Then, as seen in The Jungle, the workers would be fired and forced back into the “mob of the unemployed” that would linger outside of the factory waiting for a job opening (Sinclair 102). Due to the high population of immigrants in need of a job, factories were able to hire the next available immigrant which kept this inhumane cycle running. As seen in Food Inc., this cycle is much worse today. When companies, such as Smithfield, want to fire workers, they will call immigration to have them deported instead of just firing them on the spot. Today, companies are treating workers more like objects that they can dispose of with force, instead of workers that are making their company