The thesis of chapter ten: USDA Government Inspected is that by digging deeper into the whole meat packing scandal of the early twentieth century we can find the truth about the origin of the ordeal, the attitudes of the meat packers towards a new inspection system, and the motives of the Republican reformers and Republican conservatives. The author is trying to teach the reader that history is made up of symbolism. Symbolism’s purpose is to make complicated political issues understandable to the public. Unfortunately though, symbolism usually results in oversimplifying the political event and reducing the facts to the point that the truth can no longer be seen. I agree with the author that the symbolism that political parties and political cartoonists use turns complicated political conflicts into a good verse bad situation, where the problem is portrayed as a simple black or white decision. What I did not realize before starting this book was that it was not simply a retelling of history, but really a guide to analyzing history by studying the small details in famous events and the discreet actions of the major characters involved. At some point in school, we all learn about the story of the meat packing industry and how President Theodore Roosevelt saved the day by pushing through Congress the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. What the history books do not tell us though is the long history of the meat scandals even before Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published, the fact that the meat processing owners wanted stricter inspections, the conflict of having reforms verse having federal control over industry, and that the reformers had both a moral and a political goal. By taking away the common symbol of bad guy verse good guy, we get an intriguing story of just how the political processes of our government work. I did not know going into this chapter that the meat packing industry was not the only food industry that had terrible sanitary and working conditions. Milk dealers had been caught diluting their product with chalk and plaster. The scandal of the meat packing industry took off so well because the public was already suspicious of the whole processed food industry. When Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, he provided President Theodore Roosevelt and the public a new weapon in which they could take the offensive. A good point that the author made in this chapter was that the packers recycled every part of the animal that they could. They wasted nothing. In today’s society they might be commended for going green and recycling. Why in this time period was the packers’ careful attention to use every piece of the animal in some way looked down upon? The packers’ carefulness not to waste helped to invent many things that we use today: margarine, brushes and combs, stearin used in soaps and candles, and pepsin. We all use these things in our daily lives and never would have thought that they came from what in the early twentieth century was considered waste. I think the author’s greatest point in this reading is that the outcome of an event cannot be considered a success or a failure until it withstands the test of time. I had never thought of it this way, but I agree. You cannot look at what it had done then, but must look at its complete result now.
When people think of Teddy Roosevelt they think of a man who was unconquerable, he “spoke softly and carried a big stick”. He was the type of guy people thought could never be put down, and when he was tested he solved the problem no questions asked. When I started reading this chapter, I learned things about Teddy Roosevelt that I had never know about him before. He was a very strong willed man, and did what he wanted. Whenever someone doubted him he proved them wrong, and learned how to do it better. Teddy Roosevelt proved all of this when a curveball was throw at him by Upton Sinclair. Upton Sinclair wrote the book, The Jungle, this book was formed under a socialist view. The book took a toll on the public because of what Sinclair wrote about the meat packers in the U.S. Sinclair told them about the rats, rat poison, and rat dung; that they workers would scoop off the meat to pack it. I think this would shock anyone including me, and would really make you not want to eat anymore meat for a while. The author does make sure the reader does know that the packers did use "everything but the squeal", which i believe is good that they recycle all the part. It is just cruel how they treat theses animals beforehand. For example, they way they killed these animals and the conditions they were raised in. The things Sinclair wrote about I believe are shocking that anyone would do that without guilt hanging over their heads. I am glad TR took such great action for the Meat Inspection Act, but he still knew this would not be enough. The meat packers needed to be punished and Roosevelt knew this. It seemed though that a lot of things stood in his way, but Teddy never gave up. This proves to show how strong willed of a person Teddy was, and how he was going to get his way. Even when a case was dismissed he kept fighting. People just did not understand why Teddy was not fixing the problem, or thought he was unaware. People believed this because of the symbolism they used in the political cartoons; in these they make things simple. People cannot understand all the complex details behind a situation. I believe political cartoons tend to make the public think very narrow-mindly. Teddy was not unaware and he was angered by these deficiencies in the meat packing industry. Teddy Roosevelt was going to find a way to fix the problem, and was not going to back down. He just wanted all people to treat each other fairly, and to give the public what they paid for. For example, even Milk dealers would use chalk to diluting the milk so they could sell more. The House and Senate fought about the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 for a long time. I believe this is senseless considering the things they knew with what the meat packers and other food industries were doing. Things could have gotten worse, and it could affect the health of the population. These are things they should have considered because I think if they did consider the health of the people it would have been a unanimous decision.
When I first began reading the section on the USDA, I began thinking of the food I had just eaten earlier that day. What if food preparation was as bad as it was in the early 20th century? That sandwich that I had just eaten might not be what it appeared to be. Thanks to our now very strict food regulations, I can safely assume that what I was eating was what the box claimed. In the early 20th century, the food regulations were quite different. Food regulation was practically nonexistent. With the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, food regulation reform was spearheaded. This was largely due to the revelation of the poor packing conditions revealed in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Roosevelt responded with the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. Roosevelt wanted inspections of the meat to happen before and after slaughter. To confirm the conditions revealed in Sinclair's work, Roosevelt commissioned the Neill-Reynolds report, which shockingly confirmed Sinclair's findings. The horrifying descriptions of the factories utterly shocked me. The men described the factories of having mixed vile things into the meat that they were packing. No one took the time to sort out the assorted random parts that were mixed into the meat such as rat droppings, rat poisons, and even dead workers. Today, having anything but meat in your meat package is almost entirely unheard of. I can't help but wonder if these food regulations are truly followed or if corrupt inspectors accept bribes so that meat packers can maximize profits. In today's greedy, money driven world, I can full heartedly believe that such things as this still happen. One thing that also comes to mind is conditions in other countries. As Americans, we are lucky to have such strict regulations on food. We can be confident that we know what we are biting into. In a lot of other countries, people can never be 100% sure that what they are buying is safe to eat. In these poorer countries, they essentially risk their lives just eating. If they get sick, there is no guarantee that they can afford or even find a doctor to treat them. This is especially prevalent in third world countries. This is one of the reasons why their life expectancy is so much shorter than those of people in American society. We have come a long way since 1900. People argue for the ethical treatment of animals; some people even refuse to eat meat. We have President Roosevelt to thank for our safe food and healthy working conditions. America would be a much different place without the institution of the FDA and USDA.
Chapter Ten USDA Government Inspected discusses the use of symbolism in politics and how there can be more than two sides to every story by telling an intriguing story about a scandal in the meatpacking industry, and Teddy Roosevelt’s determination to fight the injustice of the situation. The thesis of chapter ten is that the use of symbolism in politics simplifies a story, or event, and that in order to draw an accurate conclusion to the story one must be informed of all the facts surrounding the story, not just those displayed via political symbols. The thesis is proved through the story about the meatpacking industry where through symbolism the story is reduced to Roosevelt, Sinclair and their enemies; however, the story is much more dynamic than that. Roosevelt had a past record of achievements when he was elected president of the United States. His skills had been put to the test before, but would be tested once again after the publication of the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. The book described, in detail, the horrible conditions of the meatpacking industry. The public looked to Roosevelt for guidance during this time. Roosevelt came through for the people when he signed the Meat Inspection Act. The meatpacking industry certainly needed to be reformed. But before I read this book I did not understand how unsanitary the industry was. The accounts of working conditions are disgusting. The walls were covered with slime and manure while the equipment was covered with blood and filth. Despite awful working conditions though, the meatpackers should be applauded for their innovativeness in recycling, though people of this time did not necessarily agree. They created many new products that we use on a daily basis without thinking about it. Another thing I did not know before I read this book, was that the outrage of the public is not totally attributed to Sinclair’s book, in fact most people were already skeptical about processed foods. The health standards of other processed foods such as milk dealers were no better. I think it is wrong that milk dealers were allowed to dilute their milk with chalk and plaster. I also think it is wrong that meat packers were allowed to sell products without a label on the can telling when it was made and what was in it, such as potted chicken containing no chicken at all. I think it was right for Roosevelt to push for those to be conditions of the Meat Inspection Act, though dating was ultimately not required. Despite Roosevelt’s many obstacles in reforming the meatpacking industry, he did not give up. Another fact that is often left out of the story is that many packers wanted the stricter inspection laws, and were happy when Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. With the act signed, it was now up to the executive branch to enforce it and see the true impact that it made.
After reading “USDA Government Inspected”, I was very surprised from what I read because there are so many facts about passing the Meat Inspection Act that I was unaware of. Many times in history books I have read about how the Jungle led to Teddy Roosevelt’s decision to pass the Meat Inspection Act. But I had no clue that there was so much work and different bills that led to Roosevelt passing the Meat Inspection Act. I think that I, like most students, just read facts in my history book and think that all that happened was Roosevelt saw there was a problem with the packing industry, decided to write a new law about it, and just passes it with the support of Congress. Most people do not really go in depth enough with history to learn that there really is a lot more behind a big bill or law being passed. But I believe that sometimes it is the government’s fault for not giving the people all the information on a specific issue that they deserve to have. For example, I do not think it is right that the packers were given such a bad reputation and were not fully given a chance in public to explain themselves. I also did not think it was right how some meat-packing information was kept from the public because meat packers would beg the inspectors not to leak the bad, dirty details of their factories. Though I believe a meat-packing reform was needed, I am not a big fan of how Roosevelt and other politicians made it seem to the public like they were the heroes and the meat packers were the evil villains who love giving people bad-quality meat. Though I believe public image is very important for a politician to have, I do not believe they should manipulate the image of other people, in this case the meat packers, just so they can have a new law be supported by the public. The meat packers did need a reform on how they processed their meat, but they were not bad people like politicians made it seem; they just did not have the time or an order from their leader to make the meat packing place a cleaner environment. Meat packers actually tried to make more uses out of pig parts to benefit the public, but after politicians like Roosevelt condemned meat packers, the public ignored all the good the meat packers were doing and just saw them as bad people who created all bad products. Overall this chapter reminds me that politicians work hard to make themselves look like heroes and makes whoever they go against look like the bad guys just so the public will support the “hero” politician.
The way that the meat industry conducted business at the turn of the century was utterly appalling to me. I feel that they were greedy, my reasoning for this is that if you have all the extras, say the rats (and their waste), the poisoned bread, and humans, then the less of the actual real meat they had to buy. Teddy Roosevelt never put up with any nonsense. It says in the book that he single-handedly rounded up a group of criminals at gun point. I think that he did the same with the meat packing industry. Roosevelt saw a need for change in the meat packing industry, and like anything else he did, he worked until it was accomplished. Roosevelt already knew of the treachery in the meat industry, but Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, provided him with more ammunition in his fight against the packers. Roosevelt told his Attorney General to bring a lawsuit against the meat packing industry under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Roosevelt learned that the judge in charge of the case dismissed the trial, and that angered him greatly. This provides grounds that the meat industry bribed the judge. The meat industry, in my opinion, is like the mafia. They do dirty work and nobody can touch them. They cover all their trails and know how to grease the palms of the right people. The way that the meat industry ties into this is that they paid the reporters to never bring out the truth about what they did. Symbolism also played a major role in this whole story. Back then not everyone was educated, but if you make a matter humorous it is easier for everyone to understand, this is what the political cartoons did. Teddy Roosevelt appears to have been a goofy looking guy. They say he had bad eyes, and he had to wear glasses that made them look twice their size. He also had oversized front teeth. The political cartoonists had a field day when it came to Roosevelt. They always made him appear as if he were a child wearing their grandfather’s dentures. The cartoons also put everything in proportion to the size of the problem. For instance, if the cartoon was portraying big business as compared to mom and pop stores, they would make big business a large, fat man dressed in a pinstripe suit with a big fat cigar in his mouth, where as the small businesses would be a short, scrawny man with overalls and a worn out hat. I think that this chapter is trying to portray the message of the importance of public image. We see examples of how important your image is still in today’s world. Take Tiger Woods for example, a great athlete, good role model, and a family man. This all went out the window in an instant. The same thing happened to the meat industry with the release of just one book. The health of our nation could be extremely worse that it already is if it hadn’t been for Teddy Roosevelt and Upton Sinclair.
The overall thesis of “Chapter Ten: USDA Government Inspected” is that many political processes, the three branches of government, differentiated politicians, and symbolism shape our history. In this chapter, the author uses the Meat Inspection Act at the turn of the century to show how all these different elements form the important decisions made in our country. When I first started this chapter, I was blown away at the conditions of the meat packing industry. After Sinclair published The Jungle, there was an uproar among citizens, politicians, and meat packers throughout America. I was surprised that The Jungle was not the first piece of work explaining the horrid conditions of the meat packing industry, but it “merely provided a new weapon for Roosevelt’s ongoing fight.” I would think that if there was any former truth provided to the public about the meat packing industry that something would be done immediately. Later in the chapter, however; I realized how difficult it is for a law to be passed to put the matter to rest. President Roosevelt is seen as the hero in this story because of his outstanding morality and dedication. When Roosevelt hears of the controversy in the meat packing industry, he is immediately determined to solve the problem. He learns quickly that because of the rebuttal of the meatpackers and their allies, passing the Meat Inspection Act would be harder than anyone thought. An enemy opposing both Roosevelt’s side and the meatpacker’s side would be the media and symbolism. As in today’s world, the people of America are fed lies and not given both sides of many stories through the media. A common and more “justified” way of convincing us would be embellishment and exaggeration by the media. For example, Agriculture Department investigators and meatpackers told the media that Sinclair along with Neill and Reynolds had greatly over exaggerated the conditions in the plants, leaving fellow Americans without knowing what to believe. Symbolism is also guilty of leaving fellow citizens and voters under informed and confused. While symbolism aims to simplify a political problem to the public, it can easily leave out details of a story and not give both sides. Before reading this chapter, I was clueless to the fight Roosevelt had to put up in order to pass this Meat Inspection Act, because history books leave out the history of this issue. I learned after reading this chapter that compromise is a vital part of the political process. Only because Roosevelt compromised was he able to achieve some of his goals. If he had not let go of some of his less important objectives, he would have never been able to reach his larger objective. I thought so much more of Roosevelt as a person and a politician for compromising, because he shows that history is a constant compromise. Rarely will one politician get exactly what he wants, rather; he must reach an agreement with others to make the best decision for our country. It is good to know that Roosevelt was a president that never gave up even when his “big stick had become a twig,” because he demonstrates the morale and determination more politicians need today. He serves as a great example to follow.
The general thesis in chapter ten, “USDA Government Inspected” is a mixture of the unstoppable Teddy Roosevelt and the difficult struggle he and the government had in the revealing of political processes pertaining to the meat scandal in the early nineteen hundreds. When hearing the name Teddy Roosevelt, you think automatically to one of the most famous and most influential presidents in the United States today; so to my surprise I was shocked to find out of his sickly, nearsighted, and asthmatic childhood. From being a cowboy in the west to his race to the White House, Roosevelt brings a very dedicated and hard working attitude to the table. Naturally, when The Jungle reaches the public, Teddy sees this as a perfect opportunity to “carry a big stick”. Sinclar’s writing tells unfavorable stories of the packers, for example it describes the way the packers would leave poisoned bread out for the rats; they would die; and then the bread the meat and the rats would all go into the big hoppers together. The packers would ignore the rats completely and move on with the job that had to be done. The description of not only the working conditions, but also the description of the meat in general is revolting in my opinion. I was surprised to know The Jungle wasn’t the first publication of meat scandals. After the news of Sinclar’s stories, the Neill-Reynolds report rocked Teddy Roosevelt’s world next suggesting they had found even worse conditions than stated in The Jungle. I knew that sometimes the government is full of under the radar connections and things of that nature, but the way Wadsworth and Lorimer undermine Teddy Roosevelt and the Beveridge bill is pretty shocking including when they. All the trouble they go to going behind his back to cover up for the Neill-Reynolds report is crazy including when they sent the Beveridge bill to the Agriculture Committee where Wadsworth and Lorimer were both members. The Neill-Reynolds report obviously gave Teddy Roosevelt the big stick he loved to carry into this particular political battle. I learned that not only was Roosevelt a thoughtful man, but also very good at compromising. He manages to compromise with Wadsworth to come up with what Teddy says “as good as the Beveridge amendment”. I found out that in this situation with the meat scandal all three branches of the government can change the outcome.
After I finished reading this section, I realized that I had learned a great deal more about politics in the 1900s and the conflict with the meat packing industry. In school, you are only taught small details about this incidence, but this book revealed so much more. I knew that symbols greatly influenced politics during this century, but I was unaware that symbolic representations inevitably oversimplified the political process to the point of distortion. As the author states, distortion arises because symbols come to personalize complex situations and processes. I agree with the author that political historians have to handle symbolic language with caution, and cannot allow them to obscure information. The account of the meat-inspection law is condensed to the tale of Roosevelt, Sinclair, and their enemies. When I eat canned meat, I know for a fact that it does not contain bits of rat and other unwanted animal parts. I have Theodore Roosevelt and the Meat Inspection Act to thank for. I did not know that The Jungle was merely a final chapter in the conflict against the packers. Problems with American meat products had appeared as early as the 1870s when European governments had begun to ban goods. I was surprised to learn that Roosevelt had seen his troops die from poisonous meats, and he was aware of the situation far before The Jungle arose. There were no laws protecting American consumers, and I can’t imagine how they must have felt. Once a carcass passed the inspector, the government had no further power. Congress never allocated enough money for an inspection force that got the job done. Thankfully, Roosevelt was ready to fix the problem. The problem was not singled to the meatpacking industry. Other food industries such as milk dealers also polluted their products to increase profits. I would’ve hated to live during the 1900s where I would be unsure of what was safe to eat and drink. I realize that politicians cast issues in black and white, but I believe that the packers were the villains. My feelings are reinforced by how packers established chemical research labs to take recycling to the next level. They created a variety of products out of wastes once flushed down the sewers. I would have been paranoid about everything I used if I knew that innovators created them from ground bones, hooves, feet, and others. However, once The Jungle appeared, the packers’ success was lost. I did not know that Sinclair received information from The Lancet for his piece. The Jungle added much fuel to the fire by proving that the horrifying conditions of the industry were true, but even it was not enough to persuade conservatives. Roosevelt employed Neill and Reynolds to undertake an independent investigation. Their reports shocked me greatly. The equipment used rotted in filth and blood, and meat scraps for canning sat in piles on the floor. These findings reinforced Sinclair’s accusations and allowed Roosevelt to carry his big stick into the political fight. Roosevelt may have faced many difficulties in getting his act passed, but I am thankful for his determination. I couldn’t imagine living in the United States today if the meatpacking industry remained unchanged.
After reading the chapter, “USDA Government Inspected,” the thesis was clear to me: politics are not always what they seem in black and white. Often, symbols replace a complex circumstance to make an event simpler for the average person to understand. Davidson and Lytle state by using symbols, “[the] symbols and symbolic language serve as a means of communication between political leaders and their constituencies.” Meaning, symbols can get the public involved and portray the leaders as working hard to accomplish significant matters. Davidson and Lytle states that many times symbols do not always satisfactorily portray the political events; symbols can be used to persuade an audience either toward or against a select group of people. The horrors of the meat packing industry appalled me because I never realized the unsanitary means of the packers. We, as students, have always been taught about the conditions of the meat packing industry in the early twentieth century and how Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, but I have never studied this controversy in such great detail before. The chapter has opened my eyes about what is actually in our food. Are the contents of our food actually what they say on the carton or bag? The worry of unsanitary food is one Americans can leave in the past because of the regulations made by President Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the twentieth century with the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. After reading the chapter, I could not believe how the packers could allow rats, poisoned bread, and even deceased humans into the meat. I cannot grasp how anyone could allow contaminated meat to be sent out to American families and even to other countries. Members of the packers’ family, especially their children, could be eating the unsanitary meat; is that not enough for the packers to reform their unhealthy, habitual ways? Even after other countries stopped importing meat from the United States, packers still were unmoved to reform; this surprised me greatly because the packing companies were loosing money. I now wonder if Upton Sinclair never wrote and published his controversial book, “The Jungle,” would the meat packing industry ever be changed? No one knows; one can only hope. While reading the chapter, I was wondering if today’s meat is clean and if Roosevelt’s Meat Inspection Act truthfully regulates the meat packing industry. With today’s economy in such a terrible state, I would not be surprised if packing companies add substances to their meat in order to use less meat and to gain more money.
Actually James La Russa said... The comprehensive thesis of "Chapter Ten: USDA Government Inspected" involves the overextensive work put into correcting the corrupt and fraudulent ways of the American Meatpacking Industry. The ways both sides, the reformers and the conservatives, mutated and distorted their ideas to persuade the public to take one's side interested me the most, for one's "truth was inclusively different from another's. Two reformers, Neill and Reynolds, were sent to a meat packing industrial center to understand what went on inside of these centers, for they had heard many rumors including descriptions of unsanitary matter, such as pig skin and rats, which is thrown into the meat sent around the country. They returned with more drastic and substandard reviews than Roosevelt had heard from other reviwers. Ironically, the conservative reviwers noted that no critical changes needed to occur, for nothing major was wrong. These two monumental differences seem to paradoxically contrast because both sides distorted the truth to shadow the actuality of the situation under convincing lies. Sinclair's Jungle seemed to fall in the middle of these two extremes; however, it did not bring the greatest review of the meat packing industry either. Therefore, the ultimate decision of reform fell on the burly and confident shoulders of Theodore Roosevelt. I believe Roosevelt was biased toward the reformer's side, for a number of his Rough Riding men died from food poisoning. However, he acted as an impartial ruler and ultimately settled the dispute between the reformers and conservatives by proving that the conservatives were wrong to run their business in an unsanitary manner; therefore, he was able to lean toward reform with his passed bill, which called for a more strict inspection of the meat packing insustry.
USDA Government Inspected After reading this section, my first reaction was just utter disgust. In my past history classes, we had never really gone into much detail on the meat inspection controversy so I was very surprised at the majority of what I read. I knew that the meat industry used to be very unsanitary, but the details repulsed me. I had no idea of anything that happened in the meatpacking places, or the conditions under which they were done. After reading about Teddy Roosevelt's impact on the controversy, I now respect him on an entirely new level. The authors of After The Fact clearly displayed Roosevelt as a hero right off the bat, as they flat out told the reader that he was indeed the hero. But then they go on to tell of his stories of riding with the Rough Riders, ranching in Dakota, and even playing an extreme amount of tennis. All of these are irrelevant other than showing how determined Roosevelt had always been, and were likely included primarily to raise the reader's image of Roosevelt. Well, it worked. I admire the way Roosevelt handled the controversy that he was forced to reckon with. After seeing even the possibility that what Sinclair said in his book, The Jungle, could be true, he immediately brought out a bill that banned the meat packers from any unhealthy dyes, chemical preservatives, or adulterants. Four months later, it was signed into law as the Meat Inspection Act. To me, this already proved that Roosevelt was truly a president of and for the people, and would do anything possible to protect American citizens. Even when it seemed as if the government could do no more because of lack of power versus the industry, Roosevelt continued to push towards making the meat industry a more sanitary place at all costs. In the end, Roosevelt had to settle for a bill that was less than perfect in his opinion, but I believe that having a President with ANY less determination and stubbornness than Roosevelt, the bill would have been much, much more lenient and would have had very little impact on the meatpacking industry. I am very glad that this meatpacking industry controversy came up in 1906 because with the laws and regulations that became of it, the meat we eat today is now much more clean and sanitary than it may have been. For knowing the details of the Government Inspection, I now feel better off as far as knowing that the meat I eat is healthy and okay.
Buddy, I 100% agree with you when you said that politics are not always what they seem. This chapter is just one example of how the government sometimes tries to keep some of the facts from the public, hoping to manipulate the public into believing something without knowing all of the facts of an issue. I agree with you that the government uses symbols as a way for the public to know enough facts to be passionate towards an issue, but normally the symbols don't tell enough about the certain issue; it seems that the government uses symbolism to try to avoid the public learning the negative effects of a bill or law they want to pass. Also, you wrote about an issue i did not even think about-how today's economy is affecting the meat packing indestry. Reluctantly, I agree with you that in order to save money, the meat packers are probably using less meat and more artificial substances in our meat. It seems that whenever the economy down, the quality of goods goes down too.
I was just as surprised as you when I read this section. Like you, I was unaware of the work and bills that led up to the Meat Inspection Act. In school, I also only learned about how The Jungle influenced Teddy Roosevelt. I must disagree with some of the things you said. I believe that the packers deserved the bad reputation they got and earned it by how they supplied meat to the public. They explained themselves well enough by doing this. However, I agree with you that meat-packing information should not have been kept from the public. I also agree that Roosevelt should not have portrayed himself as a hero battling the villains. My opinion of the meat-packers varies a little from yours. I thought that the meat-packers were bad people who only asked for reforms and inspection laws to regain the public’s trust. The fact that they made items from sewage material greatly disturbed me. Maybe Roosevelt had to portray himself as a hero in order to end the unsanitary methods of the meat-packers.
What I interpreted as the thesis of “USDA Government Inspected” is that the political processes that shape our history are too complex to be put in an oversimplified political cartoon or one sentence that solely tells the outcome; one must go through the entire story in order to fully appreciate, understand, and teach what really happened. Specifically, in this chapter, the story is about the meat scandal during the early nineteen hundreds and all the effort put forth in the Meat Inspection Act. Upton Sinclair’s socialistic and reform oriented book The Jungle spread like wildfire through America after it was published. I had read several times in my history classes about his book but I didn’t realize the severity of the insanitation; I had no idea that dead workers sometimes fell and were mixed in with the meat which is vastly disturbing. I also felt sympathy for the workers who not only had been doing their jobs with manure on the walls, little lighting, and blood-stained hands but also were now being spat and looked down upon by American citizens and officials. Teddy Roosevelt is deemed the hero of this story and begins his long struggle to pass the Meat Inspection Act immediately after The Jungle is released. I was proud that our past president put his views towards Sinclair socialistic opinion aside and does what he knows is right for his country. I like how the author mentions how politicians are treated like “celebrities” most of the time; this is a completely different perspective that I had never thought about but realized is exceptionally true even today. Another thing I never recognized is how political cartoons and symbols act as a portal of communication between politically informed people and those who are politically naive. The journalist who studies politics is able to simplify his or her opinion of a recent political event for the American citizens to understand by using symbols to represent people, places and things. On the other hand, I saw how the symbolic representations often end up distorting political people’s intentions or actions. A new fact I learned from this chapter is that other food industries had little to no sanitary requirements just like the meatpacking industry. I now appreciate the security and safety measures taken in order to deliver the American people clean and healthy foods. In addition, I discovered that the meat packers actually intelligently recycled almost all parts of the pig to create more profit for them and less waste for the environment. It was sad how the American citizens looked over this good deed of the meat packers and focused on the mistakes they had made regarding sanitation. Teddy Roosevelt’s perseverance towards passing this act should be applauded by generations to come; even when the odds were not in his favor, Teddy stood his ground. He should also be commended for his ability to compromise and meet in the middle with the opposing side in order to fulfill his goal; this is a key step in getting the Meat Inspection Act passed because if he hadn’t compromised and instead focused on the little things he couldn’t give up then the Act most likely would not have been passed. In the end, this story taught me to appreciate the sanitation laws we have now and to respect our president Teddy Roosevelt who never gave up.
After reading the chapter entitled "USDA Government Inspected," I've come to the conclusion that the thesis involves the corruptness of the meatpacking industry as being one of the obstacles that President Teddy Roosevelt faced during his presidency at the beginning of the twentieth century. The authors of After The Fact go into much deeper detail than most history textbooks I have read in the past few years. The intense details really shock me the most while reading about what all goes into the meats in the meatpacking industry. I was appalled when I read in the text about all of the horrid contaminants that went into the same vats that the meats went into. I cannot even begin to imagine the contaminants such as countless numbers of rodents and their feces in the food of many innocent citizens. What really surprises me is that these men working in the meat industry knew about these unnecessary and harmful ingredients being mixed with the meat and pork; the workers were letting the poisons that were used to exterminate the rats slip into the processing machines with the meat. Although these stories seem too unrealistic and fake, the nation’s meat packing industry really did struggle and put other people’s lives in danger. If the meat industry was still like that today I would be very concerned. My everyday meals would put my life in danger due to the overwhelming numbers of dangers. Thankfully, with the help of our nation’s leader, the problems of the industry were finally solved; a reformer named Upton Sinclair thankfully gave a thorough examination and made his results available for the public to read. The public obviously grew concerned about the problems that it faced, and they first turned to their president, Theodore Roosevelt for help. It did not take long for Roosevelt to organize a conference with Upton Sinclair about the improvements that needed to be made immediately. As one of the noblest presidents in the United States history, Roosevelt kept his promise of solving the problems of the meat packing industry. Along with members of Conference, he proposed a solution only four months later. His new bill was called the Meat Inspection Act which prohibited any workers from using any sort of unsanitary dyes or adulterants. The bill allowed for inspectors to be supervising the mills at all times. Overall, United States citizens were now able to live without worrying about losing their lives after they eat a family dinner; all thanks goes to a man who went through many struggles in his lifetime such as being sickly, asthmatic, and nearsighted as a child.
The USDA Government Inspected chapter of Davidson’s and Lytle’s After the Fact dives behind the scenes of the passage of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This era is also known as the Progressive Era with the uprising of the Progressive political view. The progressives’ beliefs were based on the welfare of the citizens of the nation, but primary the middle and lower class. Being that the opening of the 20th century was filled with scandals and corruption that harm the average citizen, the progressives were quite active. With the economy so unstable, most people would do anything for a profit; for example, cremators would burn logs rather than corpses because they are cheaper to burn as to human flesh. But the spark of the war against the meat packing industry was made by Upton Sinclair’s Jungle which described the disgusting details of the work conditions of a meat packing factory. But rather than putting blame on the factories themselves, the book degrades the inspectors of the factories and the system that they ran on. The president at this time was Theodore Roosevelt who may be my favorite president being that he revolutionized the political field while he was in office. Roosevelt had prior history with the meat packing industry. When leading fighting in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, the Rough Riders led by Roosevelt received meat from a meat packing factory and many fell to the rotten and adulterated meat. Instead of being killed by the enemy, Roosevelt’s men were taken down by their own country’s greedy actions of corruption. Naturally, when The Jungle was published, the public was disgusted by the contents describing the atrocities within the meat packing factories and pointed the finger to the government, and as a progressive, Roosevelt answered the people. A full out war broke out between the government and the powerful meat packing trust whom terrorized the people of the United States. This trust was a real thief of the public giving them the choice to pay outrageous prices or let families starve. Both the government and the meat packing trust sorted out their allies and their legislative arsenal as they prepare to engage in bloody combat in both the court and the media. The general public is able to witness this war through muckrakers and political cartoons. The meat packing trust put up a fierce fight, but in the end, Roosevelt’s progressive reign pulled through and killed the beast with the Meat Inspection Act. The government now gains the much needed power to begin reforms within the nation, but will the government gain too much power?
Sam, although I do agree with you that what the meat packing industry did was appalling and simply disgusting, I do not think greediness was the problem. I think the biggest issue was simply that the workers and people running the factory were too lazy and simply did not care enough to improve the sanitary conditions of the factory and the food being processed. I do not believe that these people were purposefully out to get the American consumers that were buying the poisoned and unsanitary products, but as I said before simply lazy and possibly ignorant. I also disagree with you about the extent of Teddy Roosevelt’s heroism. I do not think he is quite the hero that our history books paint him out to be. From reading this chapter, I gained a new insight of Teddy Roosevelt, the meat scandal, and some of the true motives of all the parties involved. Your analogy of the meat packing industry and a mafia is very clever, but obviously not altogether true because people can “touch them” and they cannot always “cover all their trails” and “grease the palms of the right people.” Teddy Roosevelt and his supporters attacked the meat packing industry for their scandalous actions. Upton Sinclair exposed their terrible secrets, and the meat packers could not persuade or bribe everyone into their bidding. In the end, the Meat Inspection Act was passed and that is the most important point! The rest is history…
Upton Sinclair is a socialist, whose sole purpose of writing The Jungle was to expose the exploitation of the average American factory worker in the early 1900s. The novel was also meant to illustrate his dislike of capitalism. Unfortunately, rather than the public focusing on Sinclair’s message, his underlying meaning was lost on the American public who were only fixated on the safety of their meat. These unsanitary conditions and the products produced by the meat processing industry, as communicated by Sinclair, scandalized America. There was so much concern among the American people that President Theodore Roosevelt had no choice but to take action. The President needed to create a solution that would placate the outraged citizens. However, the meat packing industry would not be brushed aside quietly. Several of the nation’s leading meat packers exerted enough power and control over the market to monopolize the market. Yet, the federal government gained the upper hand due to the investigative efforts of Charles P. Neill, Commissioner of Labor, and James Reynolds, a New York attorney. Even though Congress was prepared to take recess for six weeks, President Roosevelt did not worry about the issue losing momentum; he had more damning facts available that were ready for print. By withholding their horrific discoveries from several meat packing factories, President Roosevelt could force almost any restriction on the meat packing industry. The meat packers understood their dire situation and were ready to negotiate. However, their suggestions and solutions were weak and would accomplish no real change and they were totally unwilling to concede to the issues that would reduce their income. The reoccurring proposal from the meat packers was to allow the meat packers a set period of time to upgrade and clean up. When that time expired, their factories and then the inspectors would again be invited to inspect the facilities. This plan offered no permanent solution and did not deal with the control of the market by a few private companies dominating the industry. If the prosecutors had only held their cards a little while longer, they would have been able to achieve the goals in which they had originally set out to accomplish. Yet, it was not meant to be. Upton Sinclair’s frustration with the President’s inability to arrive at a resolution to the problem actually inhibited the prosecutions leverage. Sinclair leaked the Neill and Reynolds report along with more of his personal findings to the New York Times. Those findings from Sinclair exposed even more shocking details. Now, its defenders and the entire meat packing industry had no fear of the prosecutors because the worst had already been revealed. This one single move cost the reformers most of their cases. When finally passed, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 lacked dating, head fees, and left the courts as the final judge of the Secretary of Agriculture’s rulings. These issues were disregarded in order to achieve some of the more important points that needed to be dealt with, such as sanitation. The verdicts and decisions made later on down the road, like with the new wave of reformers in 1968, would provide the American people with the restrictions and stipulations, which we have grown accustomed to today. By reading this passage, I have come to the conclusion that the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was too little too late.
Hope, I agree with you about several things. I completely agree with you when you said that our history is far too complex to condense. By not getting the whole story, citizens are left confused and unaware about what is going on in their own country. Although we are taught simplified versions of incidents like the Meat Inspection Act in our textbook, it is much more stimulating and interesting to read about the whole story and how it unfolded. I also agree with what you said about President Roosevelt. Because of Sinclair’s socialist views, Roosevelt could have completely ignored The Jungle and the uprising it caused throughout the country. Throughout the story, Roosevelt was able to put aside his pride to help the country; like when he compromises when he could have only accepted exactly what he wanted. I do not share the pity that you had for the workers in the meat industry. The fact that the workers knew about the disgusting conditions and meat that the meat industry had and would not do something about it makes me angry. Even if they were being advised to serve the false meat, they should not have gone through with it. Also, using the whole pig (everything but the snout) does not seem sanitary if you ask me. I see the meat packing industry and all the workers as the main enemy in this story.
"Chris Michas, as expected you wrote a thought provoking and intriguing post. Sadly, i agree with your thinking concerning the third world countries. The food inspection situations in damaged and poorer countries, such as Haiti, brings to mind sad images of orphans going to food shelters and eating the 'scraps of food' for other nations that sent defunct food. Addressing your thought that the food regulations in the USA might not always be followed to the letter, i believe for the most part they are, noting how the medical profession can now test for such food poisoning. In our lawsuit-scared nation, manufactures and inspection units are provided with financial incentives to do a good job. Teddy Roosevelt, with many incentives himself for reform, did a decent job getting the message out to the public, despite any ulterior motives. Taking into account different food bank information, remember that the disadvantaged in this country do not always eat approved' food. Recently, at a food bank i helped unpack a large shipment of vegetables that was so smitten with maggots, mud, and flies, that we had to throw it and two other shipments away, a donated $ amount in the hundreds.
Chris Michas, I thought the same thing as I was reading this book about food that I had eaten earlier that day, and that week. I agree with you when you said the conditions of the factories were shocking! It is gross that rat droppings, poisons, and dead workers were mixed into the meat! I like your point about today’s greedy money driven world. I agree that I could see it happening. It is sad that people in other countries have to risk their life just to eat, and we are lucky in America to have the strict food regulations.
The thesis of USDA Government Inspected is in my opinion very easy to recognize. The author tries to explain the complexities of historical happenings, and justify how every individual could have completely different opinions based on where they gain their information and who they decide to listen to about the happenings. It was stated very clearly in the book "that history is not black and white". With the countless political cartoons, speeches and bills being passed through Congress and the Senate, the people of this time did not know who to believe; Upton Sinclair or the filthy meat packers? Although the details that the book projects are filthy and totally repulsive; i believe that many people might have overlooked the idea that Upton was a avid socialist, who disliked capitalism extremely. His publishing of the sickening details definately called for action and reform; but whether or not it called for such an outcry I can't be sure. Teddy did the right thing by doing all he could to reform the meatpacking companies, and fight extremely hard for the reforms to take place. ALthough the changes were long overdue for the sickening conditions; they eventually were enforced and changed the industry forever. The exposure hurt the meat companies in many ways, but i believe that if they were so disgusting in their ways of work and packaging, don't they deserve the embarrassment that came about in the exposure and political cartoons? I think that this chapter delved into the true nature of history ( more than just the packing houses) it teaches one to believe that not everything is seen in black and white. Cartoons portray one aspect, the senate and house another, and that it is up to the average person to research and eventually decide what they choose to believe.
My thoughts on USDA Government Inspected: The meat packing industry in the early 20th Century desperately needed to be inspected and reformed. Teddy Roosevelt had this issue brought to his attention when Upton Sinclair wrote the book, “The Jungle”. In his book, he detailed the horrors of the meat industry. I was personally shocked by what was going into the meat that the people of that day were consuming. Rat feces, bones, contaminated meat, and more disgusting things were being shoved into the same vats that made the food that was eaten my many families on the dinner tables. The fact that Roosevelt was willing to fight so hard for the American people showed his good character and strong heart. However, members of Congress who were on the side of the meat packers met Roosevelt with stiff opposition. How anyone could side with them is behind me, because anyone who sided with the meat packers meant siding with someone who was hurting the American public. Restrictions that Roosevelt wanted to put on the packers included pre and post-mortem inspection of the cows, dates on packages of meat saying when they were made, and to be subject to random inspection by inspectors sent by the government. These restrictions were more than fair in my opinion, because the packers were only hurting the American public, and anything to keep people safe is worth it. The meat packers were more concerned with money than they were with the safety of their consumers, which revealed just how corrupt they were. The meat packers had hoped to stall the bill from passing until Congress was dismissed for a break, hoping that by the time Congress resumed the public outcry over the meat packing industry would have died down. The meat packers were successful, but Roosevelt eventually passed a bill that prevented the packers from using dyes and adulterants, which contained chemicals that would be potentially harmful to their consumers, and allotted time for inspection of the meat packing mills at all hours of the day. However, the bill did not force the packers to put the date at which the meat was made, so the consumer could have been eating meat a day old, or a year old. In the end, I believe a fair compromise was made. It may not have been the best bill, but it was better than no bill. I believe the public was happy with the bill, and because of this bill we do not have to worry about consuming meats at our dinner table that could cause us to become sick.
when i printed out the assignment about a month ago, i didn't see anything about the including of what we thought the thesis was, so i apoligize for not including that in the beginning of my post... here it is. I believe that the thesis of "USDA Government Inspected" involves a very bold and determined President Roosevelt and his battle against the unsanitary meat industry, which included an intense political battle for a suitable bill.
To further my response, because the rest got deleted: Whether or not it was correct; the horrid stories about dead bodies in the meat; blood and filth covering the machines and the horrible conditions of the factory not to mention the use of all pig parts (except the snout??) could be the result of the lack of governmental knowledge on the factories and their products. The time it took for the bill to be passed through Senate and the House took too long; and almost seemed to lax for the horrifying conditions once they were proved by the private investigators. Although everyone wanted to take action and fix the problem; it was not an immediate fix and I think it took time for Teddy to realize that he could not just miraculously fix it overnight, and that it took time and much persuading. Upton Sinclair’s book drew attention to an important issue that many had been overlooking; and after much debating and fighting for a suitable bill; but was it suitable? Or was it to lax? Did the meat packers get too much of what they wanted? I think so. I would have fought for harder laws, but then again a quick fix was needed. After much consideration and thinking; I’m still not sure what I would have done in Teddy’s situation.
your final sentence saying that the Meat Inspection Act was too little to late was just how I interpretted it. Although Teddy Roosevelt was right in finally taking action and working to get the law passed; by the time it was most companies had already cleaned up their acts and were not so much affected by the law. Not to mention the fact that they still had very lax conditions and not as many inspections as were needed. However, I somewhat disagree with the fact that Sinclair wanted to expose the average 1900s factory worker. I don't believe he wanted so much exposure, but a more viable way to get his political ideas across in a large manner. One that would sink in and grab the heartstrings of the American public and touch them at a core; the food that almost all Americans consumed, was filthy. With this astounding fact, he hoped to in many ways promote his socialism values by proving that the government needed more control; but instead most people were more concerned with their consumption of rotting meat. I think you had a very valid point though, and i do agree that when the bill eventually was put into action it was to lax and to late.
After reading and analyzing “USDA Government Inspected,” the thesis became clear; Teddy Roosevelt was a very head strong person whether in his normal life or his presidency. This enabled him to quickly resolve issues such as the meat packaging nightmare that unfolded. When reading ,“USDA Government Inspected,” I found myself wondering how the disgusting practices of the meat packing industry were allowed to go on, seemingly under the radar of government officials. Certainly someone else besides Upton Sinclair had to be getting a whiff of what was going on in these meat packaging warehouses other than the corrupt inspectors that were obviously not doing their job. Thankfully, Sinclair took action and published his findings, though in a manner that also put in many plugs for Socialism. However, due to the repulsive nature of the findings in the book, no one paid too much attention to the push on Socialism. On the other hand, much attention was paid to the meat packaging scandal that was thrown in Roosevelt’s lap. Shortly after Roosevelt got wind of this “stink,” laws were passed to prevent and correct the horrific conditions in packaging warehouses. It was made clear to the public that Teddy Roosevelt was a diligent fighter for the American public. History also backs this up in relation to Roosevelt’s early days. Roosevelt was a sickly child, but that did not stop him from fighting his illness. According to the chapter, Roosevelt would work out for hours on end “to build a body as robust as his mind.” There are many other instances of his strength when he went out West to take up ranching. Even in his tennis matches back East, he showed lots of determination by playing a record 91 games in a day. Needless to say, Roosevelt wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his citizens’ prosperity. Therefore, he implemented pre and post mortem inspections of the cows, expiration dates on meat packages, and random inspections of meat packaging facilities across the United States administered by the government. In addition to random inspections, certain chemicals were no longer allowed, such as harmful dyes and adulterants. This wave of significant changes in process enraged some meat packers because they felt as if they were being targeted by the government. I can only see Roosevelt’s new requirements as fair and just because it combats the disgusting practices of the packers and protects the citizens.
My initial response to reading After the Fact was that it was overflowing with facts, which made it almost impossible to absorb and comprehend the majority of the text. This book allows the reader to learn more than they ordinarily know because textbooks merely highlight an event rather than magnifying the individual components that caused it to happen. The thesis of “USDA Government Inspected” involves the meat packing industry controversy as a critical struggle during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, and symbols in history are used to portray the outcomes in complex situations. Just as this book is mixed with many confusing and incomprehensible components, history is of the same fashion; the complete understanding of history is unattainable. Political symbols are utilized for elucidating certain complex situations and clarifying their outcomes. Political cartoonists and caricaturists have existed for centuries. I was surprised to realize that a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, was credited for first envisioning the elephant as a representation for the Republicans and the donkey as a portrayal of the Democrats. The cartoons and symbols actually impacted political involvements such as presidential elections. The public could make themselves more familiar with a certain candidate because they recognized certain cartoons or nicknames that were chosen to represent the politicians. One of the most recognizable politicians in the business is Teddy Roosevelt because he was often caricatured with his big stick. The meat packing industry controversy of his presidency put me into a state of utter disgust. Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle publicized the filthy and unfavorable conditions under which the meat and pork were processed. Countless numbers of rats and other rodents merged into the same vats and containers as the meat; along with the rats and mice came their feces. The workers at the time would shockingly not even attempt to remove unnecessary and unwanted contaminants that mistakenly combined with the meats. Sinclair told of times in which men would even fall into the various containers and be cooked and processed along with the meat. The piece of information that bothers me the most is that the innocent citizens were not exposed to the knowledge concerning the contaminants being in their everyday meals. They were vulnerably consuming rats, feces, and even poisons daily. As a prevailing leader, Theodore Roosevelt was able to conquer the problem of the meat industry with a bill called the Meat Inspection Act. The bill cleaned up the unsanitary factories by prohibiting workers from using any unhealthy dyes or chemicals along with adulterants. An inspection system was also established, which allowed for there to be government inspectors supervising the factories at all times. Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt, I can eat my food without worrying about losing my life or becoming ill.
USDA GOVERNMENT INSPECTED This chapter was mildly disturbing. I am just glad that I live in the period where inspections are required. McDonalds is still questionable but besides that I can be relatively certain that when I eat a meat product it is what the labeling says it is, and I can be even more confident that there will not be rat feces embedded in my hamburger. Thank you President Theodore Roosevelt and company. There can be no mistaking the fact that the Meatpackers were wrong in their actions and in the vulgar things that they did to gain profits, but I think that the main point of this chapter is to show the complexity of the United States Government and the effort that must be put in to accomplish change. I believe the author is attempting to show how hard it is to change long cemented traditions. In this chapter I learned a lot about the history of one of my favorite subjects, food. It seems that Theodore Roosevelt who was often dubbed the trustbuster tackled one of the major trusts in the meatpacking industry of Chicago. Theodore Roosevelt had always been tenacious and willing to go as far as it took to accomplish his goals. When it came to his terms as President he bull rushed the task with the enthusiasm he had always devoted to tasks. After the release of the book The Jungle, Roosevelt was horrified to learn of the atrocities in the meat market during the early 1900's. And he tackled the ordeal in order to 1. Protect the American general public from diseases and harmful products. 2. An attempt to break up a Trust, in this situation the Meatpacking trust. Roosevelt was a quasi progressivist and believed that breaking up Trusts would provide a more level playing field for the American Society. The author hints in this chapter that perhaps The Jungle simply provided Theodore Roosevelt with a reason to go after the meatpacking industry. Theodore Roosevelt also seemed to have taken issue with the meatpacking industry as early as1897 when diseased meat had been sent to his Rough Riders in Cuba. However, whatever the reason for his doing so, Theodore Roosevelt continued to push for a Meat Inspection Act. Through a series of compromises Roosevelt was able to have his main goals pushed across. An important central theme of this chapter is that Roosevelt realized that in order to make progress sacrifices must also be made. He worked tirelessly for reform and when he realized that he would not be able to accomplish all of his goals he took it only as a minor setback and continued to push forward with his reform. Keeping the bigger picture in mind. Roosevelt is the hero of this story. Thanks to him I can now be assured that I will not die from rat poison. This chapter is about perseverance. President Roosevelt was the perfect representation of this trait. This is truly an example of the American government beating the odds and moving forward to progress.
Sam Isert: I am with you 100% in regards to the meat packaging facilites being completely unsanitary and down right disgusting. I'm sure that many people reading Sinclair's work spit up their pork roast after reading about those rats! However, I don't necissarily agree with the packers being all to concerned with money/ greed. I do not believe that these packers were all about screwing over the American public with unsanitary food products. On the other hand, money may come into play when talking about the packers' wages. Obviously the job is not going to be a lucrative position. Most likely, the workers were uneducated and unaware of proper treatment and handeling of the meat. This could have been easily prevented by the packaging facility managers/owners, but there weren't enough regulations to cause that to happen.
Gil, I agree with you on every account. First off it is a lot of information to digest but it is presented in a very understandable format. And wildly enough I found that this chapter was interesting! Secondly, I agree with your statement that the public has every right to know what they are eating. "The piece of information that bothers me the most is that the innocent citizens were not exposed to the knowledge concerning the contaminants being in their everyday meals." It is disgusting to think that people would be so twisted as to just let a worker fall into meat and do nothing about it. Imagine the lawsuits that would occur today! The idea alone of the way conditions used to be is simply revolting. Theodore Roosevelt has definitely saved us all a lot of sickness by spearheading this issues so ferociously. Your topics are well organized and I enjoyed reading another student's work.
The point of USDA Government Inspected was to show the reader how what seems like a simple occurrence actually starts several levels deeper. The passing of a meat inspection law can easily be traced to Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle, but it can be traced even further back. History is not black or white; it is very complex. Looking below the surface is imperative to gaining a full understanding. Chapter 10 was my least favorite because I think it frightened me. I cannot imagine eating food of such a low quality. If steps had never been taken, it is possible people would still eat such unhealthy meats and suffer unnecessary illness as a result. This makes me think of people in other countries that live in dangerously detrimental environments. It makes me glad to be in America where there are health standards. I cannot fathom ingesting rat feces and other disgusting ingredients. Being able to read the label on a can and trust what it is saying is something I have always taken for granted. In this chapter, I saw that the government needs to step in and influence business sometimes, but I felt like the way it does so can be highly inefficient. By tacking additional laws onto unrelated bills, the government manages to sneak some laws into action without any sort of public hearing. I strongly believe that the voice of the people should be the key to how the government takes action. At the same time, I do not see how anyone could side with the meat packers because they were harming the American public. I am thankful for everyone who supported Theodore Roosevelt and allowed him to pass inspection acts. The thing I liked about this chapter was the way it recognized “compromise as an essential feature of the political process”. It showed how Democrats and Republicans can have very different ideas but still create a bill both sides agree on. Roosevelt had to pick the points he found the most important and eliminate others in order for the agreement to come about, and I think it is important to understand the way Democrats and Republicans interact. It is amazing to me that we can have two groups that are so very different yet have very little physical confrontation between the two. It was appalling to me that a business owner could live with the knowledge that they are poisoning their consumers. This is a greedy and economic based way to handle a business. Concentrating only on money is something some people still do, and reading this made me wonder if the only thing that makes today different is the health inspection law.
Caleb - I was also appalled with the filthy conditions in meat packaging warehouses..and I couldn't agree more about McDonald's too! Reading this chapter makes me very thankful for a diligent person like Teddy Roosevelt. Without his quick reaction to Sinclair's shocking discovery, the laws passed may have been put into effect even later than they were already. I'm just thankful it happened when it happened.
The thesis of Chapter 10 USDA Government Inspected is that we learned of the conditions meat packers worked in, how they processed it, and the effort put in to correct the corrupt business. After reading this section of the novel, I was extremely appalled at the details. I mean I have eaten some pretty nasty stuff, but the things mentioned in the book have no chance of ending up in my mouth. It really is unbelievable that these meat factories were producing crap, which other people we eating. But thanks to Roosevelt and strict regulations today, we can eat our food without worrying about the possibility of eating rats. It is just amazing how there was absolutely no food regulation during the early 1900s. However, with Roosevelt in office and his positive attitude, he made sure that some sort beneficial change would be made. While reading this section, I became puzzled when I thought of how did Upton Sinclair even get this information? It is great that she did because without the publishing of The Jungle, we still might not have any food regulations. Immediately, Roosevelt took matter into his own hands and announced the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. It provided a tougher inspection system and more inspectors. And it was much needed since the packers were using every part of the pig except their squeal. I think after Neill and Reynolds revealed even nastier details, Roosevelt gained more support over the packers. They described the walls being covered in slime and manure, the conveyor belts were covered in blood and filth, and organs on the floor. This report gave Roosevelt the bigger stick now. Looking out for everyone, he made sure not to punish the livestock raisers so he decided not to act hastily and think through his actions. Before reading this chapter, I was completely unaware about this; although I am not sure if I really liked reading this chapter due to the disgusting details. However, I was aware that politics was influenced by symbols, but I did not know it played a major role. As we see, Roosevelt’s keen determination is what helped us clean up the major flaw in the food production. This was only one of his many contributions to this country.
USDA Government Inspected Chapter 10 of After the Fact definitely contains several pieces of shocking information, which could cause someone to significantly reconsider eating whatever meat packaged product he is in contact with at the time. However, since most of my peers are defending Roosevelt’s actions, I suppose that i shall take the role of the Devil’s advocate and attempt to side with the notoriously unsanitary meat packing industry. Chapter 10 stresses several well formed arguments put forth by the meat packers and their political allies. One such argument would be their desire to make a profit, which in itself is often associated with greed and vice; however, most everyone in the world strives to accumulate as much money as possible. It sounds coarse but is nevertheless quite true, and civilization has been unyielding in this aspect throughout history. One must not only consider the corporate giants running the meat packing industry but also the blue collared working class, who slaves over a bloody pig all day for terribly insufficient wages. Thanks to Roosevelt and his meat inspectors, the pig that some innocent worker has been hacking at all day may have to be recalled due to contamination. If the fruit of his labor being snatched away from him is not bad enough, the corporate giants are going to have to make up for the price of the relinquished pig somehow. What do you think their first idea for cutting costs will be? You guessed it, that hard working fellow with a wife and three kids to support just got his wages cut in half. Aside from wage cuts, Government interference in the meat packing industry also retarded an extremely innovative way of recycling non edible parts of animal for use in products such as glue and soap. Due to the horrific works of muckrakers, supported by Roosevelt, the meat packing industry’s mistakes overshadowed what should have been praise for the complete use of a living being as opposed to wasting a fraction of an animal that gave its life to fill the stomachs of an ungrateful society. The government’s attempt to force the meat packing industry to date their canned was an infringement on the industry’s rights as a private enterprise. Dating canned meat would just cause an ignorant consumer to constantly fear the age of perfectly normal meat products, which would in turn lead to a sharp drop in profits. Who can blame an industry leader with their company's best interest in mind if they decide not to make public certain bits of information that would have hazardous repercussions on not only himself but everyone he represents. While many may consider the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and its many champions American heros, one must still take into consideration the notable arguments and woes of the actual meat packing industry.
Reed, While i acknowledge that Roosevelt was a very capable human being with a strong willed sense of morals, one must take into consideration that due to the magnitude of popularity that The Jungle attained, it would be nearly impossible for any president not to address the matter. Roosevelt was certainly capable of confronting the issue;however, even he could not completely quench the issue of a hazardous meat packing industry. I believe almost any man capable enough to become the leader of the United States would deal with the meat packers just as well as Roosevelt. Also, on the issue of the prolonged argument, the debate could not be settled as easily as one may think. The government could not just pass all the laws they deemed fit, for they also had to take into consideration the desires and rights of the private enterprise of the meat packing industry. Aside from these few contrasting opinions, I believe your essay is quite good.
I strongly agree with all the points you made and appreciate your new outlook on this chapter. It is extremely accurate that many and most times in history that if we want to know what truly happened we have to dig a little deeper or “look below the surface”. Also after reading this, I realized how much I take the American health standards for granted and how much I feel sympathetic for other countries around the world who are still suffering from unsanitary food that might even be exceedingly worse than the meat mentioned. Another thing we have in common is how we both dislike how the government can often sneak things into a bill without letting the American people know about it so we can try to change it if we disagree. Since we are a democracy, an outsider would never guess the type of thing happens, but sadly it frequently does. I never really thought about it but adding random tidbits into unconnected laws is really inefficient because then it requires more time and thought for the people in the other house looking to approve the law. Last, I too appreciated how Republicans and Democrats came together to fight for sanitary food despite their different beliefs about other issues.
Gil, I would also have to agree with you and Caleb. There is just way too many names and information in these chapters. I also agree that people need to know what is going into their stomach. I am pretty sure ingredient listings were not located on these cans during the early 1900s. Roosevelt definitely played a major rule cleaning up the corrupt business. In the reading, I was pretty grossed out when they said people would fall into the meat and just boil. That must mean people were actually eating up organs of humans. However this chapter was very informative and nasty.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy. As I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public. (This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.) The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy. As I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public. (This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.) The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy. As I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public. (This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.) The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy. As I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public. (This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.) The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
I believe that the thesis of Chapter 11 is that only through numerous debates and political disputes is America's government able to protect its citizens from the numerous shady corporations that would sacrifice health standards for a profit.
When I first began reading Chapter 10, I have to admit that I was greeted with excitement upon realizing that the chapter was based on The Jungle. While I’ve never read the book, I’m excited by the idea of one man’s journey into Chicago’s mysterious meatpacking industry and the vile practices he finds taking place. The story causes me to picture some sort of urban epic in which a daring hero journalist reveals the truth of the meatpacking industry to the public, wins a legal battle to stop the madness, and ends the corruption once and for all. Because of my outlandish thinking, I assumed that the chapter would be about Sinclair and Roosevelt and how together they defeated the looming and dangerous meatpacking industry and saved 20th century America. Therefore, it was to my surprise to find that, instead, the chapter is preaching to people like me, saying that political cartoons and other historical documents have the potential to paint somewhat flawed pictures in the minds of the American people. From what I derived, the thesis of this chapter is that people are too often led to believe certain things about politicians and corporations because of the opinions of others (cartoonists, journalists, other politicians, etc). Once I realized what the chapter was really about, my initial reaction was one of agreement. Although I had never really thought about how simplified my ideas of history can be, I immediately saw how easy it is to fall into the traps set out for us by political cartoons and other historical documents. For example, before this chapter I had not put much thought into how much legal processing had to take place before the government could have done anything to change the unsanitary methods going on inside the meatpacking factories. Basically, I was failing to see the long lawmaking process that must happen in order for the government to execute its power in a corporation. It was easy for me to understand that a political leader sees an ongoing problem and then becomes involved by making the necessary changes, but hard for me to include all the time and energy it takes to reach the point in which federal involvement in legal. Since I’m already on the subject of the law making process, might I say that I was quite surprised that the House was so reluctant to allow inspection in the packaging plants when it’s obvious, at least to me, that some sort of inspection was needed to protect the very people that the representatives were elected to govern! Although this is just my opinion, it looks to me as if Wadsworth and Lorimer are the very image of those people that think only of the progress of the corporation and completely ignore the rights of the worker. But I’ve digressed. I have to say that overall I agree with what the author’s opinion on the inadequacy of symbolic explanations concernining what must happen in order for a political figure’s objective to become law. Far too often complicacy is traded for simple imagery, and it is flawing the public’s overall picture of history.
Egraf, I have to say that I completely agree with your thesis and the opinions you derived from chapter 10. I enjoyed how, in your blog, you talked about how political cartoons create for the viewer a good side and a bad side, a black and white. It’s sad that symbolism so often simplifies situations so much that people tend to see things to be much less complicated than they truly are. I also didn’t realize until reading this chapter that the book wasn’t just a history book, but it aimed at retelling history in its true, more complex form. It’s good to have a break from the whole good guy bad guy scenario to see how things really work in our legislature. I think your response to this chapter is really great, and, once again, I agree with your thesis and your opinions.
This is what I learned after reading the chapter on how the USDA inspection system was created. The Jungle was the epicenter for the confusion, panic, and outcry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. After Upton Sinclair exposed the unsanitary production of canned-meat products, many steps of action had to take place. On a government level, varied procedures took place that brought about a fight between the packers and the people who wanted a better inspection service of their meat. Inevitably, there was a compromise made and each side had to give up a few things. Neither of the sides had a total victory, which is often in the political system. The Meat Inspection Act, in my opinion, was the first thing that showed America just how the legislative process ran its course. For the first time, Americans saw that a decision can only be made if there is public discourse that causes serious debate and negotiation. I believe the thesis of this chapter can be seen as the complexity of the governmental processes that must occur in order for there to be a change in the order of life. I learned a great deal while reading this chapter. I never knew that so much goes into the process of creating a bill. It was interesting to learn that one book alone could call for so much chaos, but I guess these days we have Harry Potter and Twilight that seem to cause the same pandemonium in America. Along with The Jungle arousing the attention of America, cartoonist even displayed a big role in causing more destruction. Cartoonist always chose a side, which showed clearly in their drawings because the other side would always be portrayed as something evil. I believe that it is necessary for a better understanding of how the three branches of government come together to produce an outcome for a proposed bill or act. This chapter provides this information; which if every American understood this, we would elect more adequate people into office. My opinion of the book is that the author was good at showing how a historian must come to write facts, this I like a lot. However, the author became abstracted during the story many times. At times I would find myself wondering where he is going with this thought. But overall, it was very interesting to learn about Teddy Roosevelt and governmental processes.
After reading "USDA Government Inspected" I've come to the conclusion that the overall theme of this chapter is to show the brutal truth about the meatpacking industry in which Teddy Roosevelt's determination allowed him to modify food regulations in the twentieth century, and to show how political cartoons are not sufficient to outline our world's history without gaining knowledge from several different sources. Once I read the first couple of pages, I was already in complete disgust and horror by the conditions of the meatpacking industry. It amazes me to think that the sanitary standards during the twentieth century were so low that someone could actually "swap off handfulls of dry dung of rats." But what's even more horrific, is the content about men actually falling into the vats, being cooked for days, and actually being processed into the meat. The gruesome paragraphs about this made me question the food I eat everyday. The fact that Neill and Reynolds found even worse conditions that were described in Sinclair's novel absolutely repulsed my thoughts. Just the thought of the manure on the walls, the awful scrapes of animal on the floor, and the rotting equipment should make one realize the awful health conditions of both the producers and consumers of America back in the twentieth century. Besides the fact of the horrible work conditions and unsanitary rules of the meatpackers, the food industry also made the consumers think the worst by having milk dealers use chalk and molasses in the milk products. Although I have never read The Jungle, I believe from what I've read in chapter ten that I would find the book very interesting and enjoy reading about how the corruption of the meatpacking industry was at last resolved by the mind of Roosevelt. Although we are unaware of the scandals preformed in the meatpacking industry before the publication of The Jungle, it's apparent that Roosevelt made a tremendous contribution to the help of his society by battling against congress. Teddy proved himself as a resolute individual with strong attributes by noting "The Jungle merely provided a new weapon for Roosevelt's ongoing fight." Continuing to keep his word of eliminating the unsanitary conditions, Roosevelt forbid packers from using chemical preservatives and any unhealthy dies or additives by creating and signing the Meat Inspection Act. As for the symbols of politics, it's understood that politicians do not portray reality to the public, but simply modify the complications for entertainment and means of communication to other political leaders. Symbolism is a way of leaving one side of every story out, and a way of forcing people to believe in an individual thought. Thanks to America's food regulations today, which are the ultimate results of Teddy Roosevelt's heroic fight, consumers can assure themselves of what exactly is contained in their food and understand the laws for public health.
Trey Flynn Chapter 10 Thesis: In order to make political issues attractive in the world of public opinion, complex political ordeals are simplified and represented by recognizable symbols, as illustrated in the debate between meat packers and agents of reform in the early 20th century. After reading chapter 10, I feel the primary intent of the author is not to give readers a history lesson in the development of the meat packing industry, but to explain how politicians and special interest groups go about presenting their debate to the public in a manner that disguises their true arguments in a way that is appealing and interpretable. By simplifying each side’s argument to terms that are most favorable to the public, the debate is simplified by two distinct and opposing sides, when in reality the complexity of the real issue is clouded to hide the true intentions of those involved. The same basic principle is what has shaped our entire legislative system into that of two opposing parties. I feel political parties exist only to deceive voters of whom and what they are really supporting. In essence, a political party is just a symbol generally associated with certain beliefs, which politicians hide behind to gain the support of voters who recognize the symbol as their own. The meat packing industry used fear of governmental involvement in the private sector to symbolize their campaign against reform. Reformers insisted that the health of consumers and workers was their main concern in reform. The author, however, insinuates that neither of the mission statements above were the top priorities of either group. The meat packers recognized that government interference would lead to more expensive methods of production, treatment of workers, and payment of officials. While the trust-busting Roosevelt pictured an entire industry of American production could be restricted and therefore made more valuable to the federal government. In either case, I feel the underlying theme of the chapter is to understand that no political ordeal is as shallow and simple as it is made out to be. This chapter has strengthened my outright mistrust in everything politicians and special interests groups say and do, and I feel that such skepticism is justified by the very nature of our political system. In order to uncover the true nature of any political debate, I feel that all Americans should be more aware of political happenings and should be offered better insight into the functions of all braches of government.
I think that this chapter's thesis is on the importance of public opinion, it is illustrated by the desperate attempts to cover up the mistakes that the meat packing industry had made.
USDA Government Inspected The thesis to this chapter is that there is always more to a story than people usually hear. Symbolism, such as political cartoons, can help the public more easily understand complicated situations, but they can also lead the public to believe things that are not true. When the public read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, they were informed of how little their health meant to the meatpackers. They conditions they worked under were horrible, endangering not only the health of all the people who ate the meat but also the health of all of the packers. There was really no concern for sanitation; when rats crawled around the meat and died, they along with their dung and the poisoned bread used to kill them. Then the packers sent out the meat for everyone in the country and even overseas. When I read this, I had no idea that anyone would let this happen at any time. I definitely realized how lucky we are to have a government that cares about public health. But what the public back then did not know was that President Teddy Roosevelt was just as outraged as they were. When he read Sinclair’s The Jungle, he did everything he could to punish the meatpackers and make sure this would never happen again. But he realized that he was not able to do very much because the inspectors of the meat cared about as much as the packers. No matter how hard Roosevelt fought, it seemed like the packers won. Making things worse, the public did not believe that he was doing anything to bring a stop to these conditions because of political cartoons. These cartoons made Roosevelt out to be completely uncaring. They made it seem like he was oblivious to the injustice happening and that he wasn’t going to do anything about it. But TR was not a man who could be easily moved. He continued to fight to fix this problem until things were changed. The stories of what went on during this time make me think about how angry this would have made me. They also make me wonder if things have changed that much today. Are we unknowingly still eating meat like this today? If we were, would we be able to change anything about that? Just as they were in the early 1900s, animals in most food industries are still being treated cruelly before they are slaughtered. They are kept in terrible conditions, and it would not be surprising of most of them carried diseases. If these conditions have still not been changed, how do we know that the quality of meat has? I can only hope that our government today and the people who prepare our food for us care a little more about our health than people did before. I hope that people today are not so obsessed with profit that they would risk the health of someone else just to make a little more.
Camille, I think its funny how you pictured Sinclair's book. I didn't think of it like that but now that i do it makes sense. It was sort of like him going on an epic journey to disgusting place and then ultimately defeating the "villain" that was the meat packing industry. I also agree that the comics present a sort of foolish picture of how a situation happens.
Harley, I agree with everything you said, and you brought some things to my attention that I did not notice before. First off, I certainly agree that history cannot be understood simply by cartoons. Actual documents are necessary. This goes on to what you said later about symbolism. I never really thought about it before except as a representation of fact. You made me realize it is a very biased representation that leaves out one side and makes you believe in the other. I had never thought of it that way, but I agree with you. I also agree that reading about the conditions was totally disgusting. Thinking of a man being processed after falling in a vat and then other men unintentionally eatting him makes my stomach turn. It's canibalism, which I find revolting. I agree that we should thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his determination. I'm glad our modern canned goods are not as questionable and have labels that identify their contents.
James La Russa said, Harley, I was equally repulsed while reading about the indescribable meat industry. I cannot imagine eating what comes out of those manufacturing agencies. This country obviously needed some type of reform when Roosevelt's men, who he sent in to inspect the manufacturing centers, came back with even worse reports of cleanliness than what was described in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
Chapter 10 of After the Fact contains several repulsive bits of information that will make you think twice about what that can of Spam or vienna sausages might really contain. Is it cow brains, eyes, hoof or some type of animal byproduct? I was utterly appalled and disgusted at the facts the chapter laid out for us readers. It was truly amazing that the meat packing industry, as corrupt as it was, could let such disgusting varieties of flesh, feces, and bones be put it to their meat product without second thought. The fact that humans would be boiled and rat feces would be used as filler for canned meats is truly remarkable. Amercan's today take the regulations and inspection agencies today for granted. In the early 1900s, one organization or governmental regulation was even thought about. Roosevelt set out to reform the meat industry once he read Upton Sinclair's tell all book on the industry, The Jungle. With Roosevelt's new found disgust for the meat packing industry, he began to pull a meat inspection act together. In 1906, Roosevelt passed his bill to reform the meat industry. The act brought tougher inspection of post and pre slaughtered meats and hired more inspection agents to be on site of the meat packing plants. Together Roosevelt hoped that these would change the meat industry upside down. Roosevelt had Neil and Reynolds conducted a independent inspection and found that conditions in the factories were actually much worse than The Jungle had told. Slime and manure covered the walls, potted ham was found to contain large portions of rope and pigskin, and all equipment rotted under a layer of filth and blood. Now that Roosevelt had the upper hand on the meat industry, he planned to get what he wanted from them or he would release the shocking information that Neil and Reynolds. Being a good president, he tried to look out for everyone and keep others out of harm from this reform especially the cattle ranchers. Looking back on this chapter, I realize how much of this information I did not know. I at first believed I knew a fair amount about the meat industry reform, but I was amazed at some of the horrifying fact the chapter showed. All together i thought the chapter was very informative and interesting. I had previously unaware of Roosevelt reform of the meat industry. But now I understand, he was leading force in the fight against the meat industrys corruption. The disgusting fact just caught my attention and interest.
Jay, I was equall disgusted as you were as it appears to me from your blog. We seem to have both thought that the meat industry was doing a horrid job when it can to the sanitation of the factory. I disgusts me to imagine the horrible and strange things that they put in their meat products I can't believe the "crap" as you said they were making.
When I saw the name of this chapter, I thought this was going to be a review of things I already knew, but it was a learning experience for me. I now realize how disgusting the meat packing companies were back in the twenties. Thankfully, Teddy Roosevelt took incentive to make things better. This was not an easy task for him, but one reason I enjoy learning about TR is that he never gives up. He had a task in front of him if he wanted to reform how all the meat companies was packing food. One meat company was named The Jungle. This name fits the packing plant because there were many types of animals in the meat, just like there are many animals in a real jungle. This then became the name of a book relating to the corrupt meat factories. It is funny to me that the author of this book wanted the readers to see "the conditions under which toilers get their bread", but he did not press the fact of the unsanitary meat. I do no know how he expected anyone to think about others when he is telling them that there is rat pooh and rats in their so-called beef or pork. The book, "The Jungle", is actually how President Roosevelt learned about the meat packing companies. I was unaware he found out about this in this way. It is neat to know he found out at the same time the general public did. It is also amazing to me that these meat problems had been taking place since 1870. Teddy Roosevelt saw the effects of the poisonous meat first hand when he saw Rough Riders die from it. I believe this was one of the main reasons he took such bold action to make the meat pure. He had all he needed to make this happen with the book by Sinclair. Everyone knew Roosevelt would eventually get to the bottom of it and it would end with what was right. I believe this is one of the many things that made him a great leader. Most of the packers wanted the government to come in after the book was released. This is because they thought it was the only way that they could regain business. If I was the owner of one of the companies I would be mad at the plants that were doing wrong because that would cause people not to buy from me.
Caleb, I totally agree with you on the fact that Roosevelt is the overall "hero" of this story. had it not been for him the mean companies may have gotton away with this for quite some time. I too found this chapter intresting because it was talking about food which is something that is essential to life. In the end, something would have been done but maybe not as quickly as Roosevlet did it. This is one of the things you said was one of his best traits was that he "bull rushed" the situation.
Caleb, I totally agree with you on the fact that Roosevelt is the overall "hero" of this story. Had it not been for him the mean companies may have gotten away with this for quite some time. I too found this chapter interesting because it was talking about food which is something that is essential to life. In the end, something would have been done but maybe not as quickly as Roosevelt did it. This is one of the things you said was one of his best traits was that he "bull rushed" the situation.
The thesis of “USDA Goverment Inspected” is that Teddy Roosevelt was a very determined individual that fought for what was right for the American citizens. Teddy Roosevelt discovered the Meat Inspection Act by reading the novel called The Jungle that was written by Upton Sinclair in the ealry 1900's. When I was reading USDA Goverment Inspected I was disgusted by the lack of upkeep of the warehouses of the meat packaging facilities across the United States. In addition, I was appalled at the use of adulterants and other harsh chemicals used to preserve the meat. When people read The Jungle, it was made very clear that the people didn’t care about the upkeep of the house or their own health. After reading this, I couldn’t believe that anyone would ever let something like this happen. We are fortunate to have a government to look after us and protect us when something like this occurs. Teddy Roosevelt always worked at something until it was accomplished, and the Meat Inspection Act was no different. I could never imagine myself eating any of the things that were mentioned in chapter ten. I think if anyone ever ate that then it would result in a serious illness. But we have to realize that the food regulations are different now than how it was back in the twentieth century. Also another thing that comes to mind after reading this chapter is that you think about all the other countries that struggle with the lack of cleanliness of food and water. Needless to say, we are very fortunate for what Teddy Roosevelt has done for our country with the Meat Inspection Act.
Dear Morgan, I completely agree with you. I was also appalled after learning how even the workers at the meat place just let the poisinous contaminants go into the meat without any objection. Like you, my diet would have to be entirely altered if the conditions were the same today. There is nothing more disgusting than eating rat feces with your meat. I agree with you completely that Teddy deserves all the praise for improving our meat- packing conditions.
The thesis of this chapter, I believe, is not just about how awful and corrupt the meat packing industry was, but how American production as a whole was fiercely unregulated. Due to this lack of regulation companies cut corners on their products and workers for the sake of profit. The government in turn had to act which sparked the Progessive Era, which was spearheaded by leaders such as Teddy Roosevelt. This in turn is the start of a long war between American business and the American government. The meat-packing industry is just one battle. Personally I wasn't suprized about how bad the meat-packing industry was. I mean it was awful in almost any business back then. Some companies do similiar things now. I know its not on the same level, but what do you think they put in hot dogs. Its a fact of life that businesses cut corners to make profit. Its no surprise to me that they did this. The American people however were surprized, and I don't blame them. This uproar became strong with the release of The Jungle. I find it quite entertaining though that the people side stepped the author's true purpose of writing the book for socialism, and instead just went for the meat packing industry. This uproar led to something I was surprized about, that the political way of doing things is nearly identical to what happens now. The conservatives say its a government take over of sorts and the liberals say the government needs to step in to stop the atrocieties of the meat packers. Both sides are simply using these as political ploys to gain the people on their side. Each side also tries to bash the other which disgusts me except in this period of time it is through political cartoons instead of today where they do it through those political commercials spelling all their opponents faults. I however was very pleased to see that the legislative process work to its fullest. Both sides gave there ideas. Both fought for them. Yes they battled to death about what should be in the bill, but when it was stalemated even the fight to the end T.R. submitted to the all important aspect of compromise. The reality is they got something done that gave America a step forward in a new age of reform.
Nicky, Although I find your position against regulation of the meatpacking industry to be boldly unorthodox, I find one of your key arguments to be irrational. The following is a passage I have selected from your response that seems illogical: “Thanks to Roosevelt and his meat inspectors, the pig that some innocent worker has been hacking at all day may have to be recalled due to contamination. If the fruit of his labor being snatched away from him is not bad enough, the corporate giants are going to have to make up for the price of the relinquished pig somehow. What do you think their first idea for cutting costs will be? You guessed it, that hard working fellow with a wife and three kids to support just got his wages cut in half.” As much as I love your reference of a bloody pig carcass as a “fruit of labor,” I wholeheartedly disagree that Roosevelt’s reform would lead to the loss of wages for a pig slaughterer. Instead I feel the reforms would lead to better working conditions, and better representation for the workers and therefore a demand for better pay. Other than this fundamental argument, I greatly respect your choice to defend the meat packers.
Chapter 10 “USDA Government Inspected” is an examination of the meat packing industry and the solutions that were in mind to clean up the meat that caused many illnesses. While reading this selection, it surprised me what was going into the vats besides just meat. Even if a worker saw a dead rat in the piles of meat, they did not even bother to lift it out. To me, this seems very selfish because it appears that the packers do not care if a citizen is consuming this type of product. When thinking back to the time in the early twentieth century when it was unclear what exactly was in the meat products you were consuming, it is evident that Theodore Roosevelt was the man to clear up the problem and gain back the confidence of the consumers. Sadly, the American public had no idea that was they were consuming was more than just meat. The authors state that potted chicken contained no chicken at all and that rats were just one additive in the meats sent to dinner tables around the country. Theodore Roosevelt was a man of his word and did not finish until the job was done. The meat packing industry of this time was fully exposed in Upton Sinclair’s book entitled The Jungle. Upton Sinclair was a socialist reformer. Many Americans during this point in time regarded socialists as extremists and dangerous people; however, most readers missed the socialist message and focused on the disclosure about unsanitary slaughterhouses and a lack of federal inspection. Although this was not the first time the American public had heard of the sanitary problems in the packing industry, it was the breaking point needed to evoke a plan. The Jungle was a very popular book that sold 25,000 copies in just one week. Theodore Roosevelt, a very avid reader, was outraged and recognized that the American public expected the government to step in and clean up the meat packer’s act. The problem of the meat packing industry was a storm that challenged Roosevelt’s leadership skills but which he passed with flying colors. He quickly brought up a new bill, the Meat Inspection Act, which “banned the packers from using any unhealthy dyes, chemical preservatives, or adulterants.” This Meat Inspection Act gained back the confidence of American consumers where they were no longer questioning whether their everyday meals would make them or members of their family sick.
My intial reaction to this chapter was that it was very shocking. It all started when Upton Sinclair, a reformer, wrote The Jungle. Once people read the evoking stories told in Sinclair's book, President Roosevelt's reputation was on the verge of being ruined. After some time, the President "overwhelmed the opposition and saved the consumer" (239). In The Jungle, Sinclair told consumers about the process of packaging pork and beef. I could not believe how gross the meat was in the packing houses, and I can't imagine unknowingly consuming that disgusting, unsanitary meat. People during that time should not have had to worry about consuming poisonous meats. One of the most astounding pieces of information in this chapter was the fact that "a few unscrupulous packers supplied the army fighting in Cuba with rotten and chemically adultered meats" (241). I could not believe that the packers would feed the people fighting for our country rotten meat. The packers did not even have the descency to give them good meat. It is ridiculous that the people in the army not only had to worry about getting shot by the Spanish, but also about dying form consuming rotten meat. Luckily, Roosevelt was very passionate about this issue, and he was determined to protect the consumers. James Wadsworth, a Republican from New York, and Lorimer, the Republican representative from Chicago's packinghouse district, sided with the meat packers. They wrote a substitution bill to replace the original bill written by Senator ALbert Beveridge of Indiana. In my opinion, Wadsworth and Lorimer's bill was a complete sham. Their substitute bill eliminated each part of the original bill that the packers disagreed with, which basically meant taking out all of the helpful qualities. They did not have any positive aspects to base their draft on. They basically had to make all of the bad and possibly life-threatening features seem appealing and favorable. I really do not understand how something so ruinous could be approved. Unfortunately, the substitution bill passed through the Agriculture Committee. It is scary that something so horrible and potentially harmful would even be concidered as an option that could actually help the citizens. It should have been an automatic rejection. Thankfully, Roosevelt did not give up just yet. Eventually, a compromise was made, and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was passed. The fact that Wadsworth and Lorimer's substitution bill was even tossed up for further concideration makes me wonder if that kind of thing still happens in the government today. I completely disagree with how certain parts of our government work. Joseph Cannon, the dictorial Republican speaker and supporter of the meat packers, was in charge of assigning people to specific commities. Members of Congress prefer to be on committees that deal with problems that pertain to their own life. If the representatives voted in Cannon's favor, they were more likely to be on the committee of their choice. Most of the time, "Many represenatives found themselves forced to vote against their consciences" (256). In my opinion, this is unfair and unjust. This portion of the chapter made me realize that politics is a game. The representatives played to win even if it meant voting for something they did not agree with. If I could change one thing about the government, it would probably be that all the politicians would not worry so much about maintaining their authority. Instead, they would focus on the issues and vote according to what they think would be best for the people in this country. This chapter made me realize how all parts of the government have a say in the final outcome. If they all can't agree on a certain topic, they work to reach a compromise. It also made me very thankful that their are people like Roosevelt in the government that are willing to fight for something even if it takes a lot of time and effort. Chapter 10 was informative, but most of all, it was very appalling.
I also found that the food made and sold by the meatpackers was absloutely disgusting. Just the thought of having all those different things in it is revolting. I also see how T.R. was a good president by not acting to rash and harming people that had nothing to do with the meatpackers. I also did not know much about this until reading this chapter. It was a lot of information that I had never even heard of.
I accidentally forgot to write a thesis statement for my response to this chapter so here it is: The thesis of this chapter is that the decisions made by all three branches of government can drastically affect the entire nation.
Candace, I completely agree with everything you had to say. I found it disgusting that the packers were allowed to operate in such an unsanitary condition. I was also very appalled that the packers knowingly sent rotten meat to feed the troops. I also agree that the Wadsworth and Lorimer's bill was a sham for allowing the packers to continue to operate under these conditions. Luckily, today packers are more closely regulated to insure that the consumer is getting a wholesome product. I also like the point you made about having government officials who stand up for what they believe in regardless of the time and effort it takes.
tracy, I also thought this chapter was frightening. It is scary to think people were unknowingly consuming rotten meat. I also agree with you "that the voice of the people should be the key to how the government takes action." I believe citizens vote on people to represent them; therefore, they should listen to the majority of the people. Like you, I think that compromise is a very important part of the way our government works. Without it, one political party would always end up unsatisfied.
Delving into the chapter exploring the meat packing scandal of the early nineteen hundreds, the reader is immersed in a horror story of loud machines, dark, dank dudgeons, vats of boiling humans, and packages of decaying rats. Wrapped up in the horrific conditions of meat packing plants and the appalling and unexpected additives one could find in meat less than a hundred years ago, one might quickly lose the message the chapter entitled USDA Government Inspected intends to convey. While the scandalous conditions of plants and warehouses and the shocking actions of government officials and meat-packing companies present a story worth repeating, the meat packing scandal and the establishment of a government inspection agency is used to illustrate the complicated process of legislation and regulation that often goes unrecorded in history. This specific example helps clarify Chapter Ten’s thesis that one must look beyond political symbolism and oversimplification to fully understand any story of historical importance. Reading the chapter it was astonishing to find just how oversimplified typical historical accounts of Teddy Roosevelt, Upton Sinclair, and the fight for the Meat Inspection Act are. Learning of the meat packing scandal and its resolution in my sophomore US History class, I thought I knew all the important facts surrounding the passing of the Meat Inspection Act. However, as I quickly read through the introduction and reached the “meat” of the chapter, I discovered that there was much more to the story than a president quickly passing legislation to resolve the issue at hand. The blackmail and corruption we see often hear about happening in foreign countries enveloped our own nation: companies disregarded the health of the American public and politicians acted for votes alone. Meat-packers, wanting to turn the greatest profits, “recycled” by attempting to “use ‘everything but the squeal’” and did so without concern for consumer health. When the government even offered them free advertisement and endorsement by giving their seal of approval to inspected meats and packing facilities, the packing companies tried their hardest to prevent inspections so they could pass on meat even unfit for consumption to unsuspecting consumers. Furthermore, some government officials only acted for and against the meat-packing inspection out of self preservation. Using investigative reports as blackmail, Teddy Roosevelt pushed hard for the Meat Inspection Act to repair the scandalized reputation “Sinclair’s revelations” had left him with, while other politicians such as “the Republican representative from Chicago’s packinghouse district” tried to stifle the legislation to maintain the support of key voters in their districts. While some of the motives of the meat-packers and politicians were questionable, neither party was as bad as the other made them seem. Though meat-packers sometimes lowered sanitation standards, attempting to use all parts of animal, the practice worked to lower the cost of meat for the general public while they increased their revenues. Additionally, not all of the politicians pushed for or against inspection legislation for votes. Former cattle breeders understood the challenges faced in the meat industry and were sympathetic to packers, while Progressive Reformers had a moral conviction to protect the health of the general public. With reports of both corruption and conviction, this chapter left me more informed about not only the meat-packing scandal but also the oversimplification of politics. Before drawing conclusions about historical events and politicians, I now know I must consider every action and point of view so that I am not easily deceived by politicians’ public façades.
When I first read Chapter Ten – USDA Government Inspected, I was shocked at the methods that meat factories used in preparing their products. To think that something so essential as the food we eat was not taken seriously during a time when everything seemed to be booming in the United States makes me wonder what else could have been poorly managed. I was especially shocked seeing as now, in the year 2010, we have so many food regulations that any thoughts of poor production or quality of what we are about to eat often times slip our minds completely. However, it was pleasing to know that the President of the United States at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, actually took action in an attempt to fix these major problems (also something unheard of today, the President actually trying to make things better!). Roosevelt became aware of the poor conditions of the meat industry through the book “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. The book explained in detail exactly how bad the conditions in these meat factories actually were. One of the major problems was the packaging of the meats. To think that rat poisons, rat droppings, and other unsanitary items were not only noticed, but were still packed in with the meats makes me cringe. In an attempt to confirm the poor conditions stated in Sinclair’s book, Theodore Roosevelt proposed the Neill-Reynolds report, which, indeed did confirm Sinclair’s findings. In 1906 Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act in an attempt to clean up the meat factories. The act called for the inspection of meat before and after the slaughter. The act did help to clean up the industry, but even today there are still questions as to what is being done behind closed doors with the production of our food. Without the actions of President Theodore Roosevelt the meat packing industry might still be in shambles, but with the founding of the FDA and the USDA we can at least be a little bit more assured that what it says on the package, is really what it is.
ccosby, My initial reaction to the chapter was very similar to yours. I could not believe that just over a year ago meat in horrifically unsanitary conditions sat in packing houses ready to be shipped to an unsuspecting public. However, I do not believe we can give Teddy Roosevelt's compassion one hundred percent of the credit for his actions. I am sure Teddy Roosevelt was just as appalled as I am that meat-packers would knowingly send diseased meat to American armed forces, but I think T. Roosevelt acted out of more than just disgust for the meat-packers’ actions. He, as you mentioned, had a reputation to maintain. The vile conditions Sinclair reported damaged T. Roosevelt's image as a concerned president on top of all issues concerning the well-being of the American public, so he had to use the “big stick” he was famous for and take quick action against the meat-packing industry.
Chapter 10 USDA Government Inspected discusses the scandalous story of meatpacking industries and how the government dealt with the situation. My initial reaction to this chapter was complete and utter bewilderment. i had no idea that there used to be that many problems with the meat that is consumed by the human race. to think that people used to eat meat that was not even labeled for an expiration date is astounding and utterly disgusting. It amazes me that our government let this go on for such a long period of time. In the book it says "the thunderclap that shattered the calm was the publication of The Jungle." This evoking book was written by Upton Sinclair. He was a socialist who wrote about Chicago's meat packing industry. The grisly details revealed where their meat was coming from and what it was actually made up of. I cannot imagine reading The Jungle and then having to think about the adulterated meat i had eaten recently. In the book it says that if a worker saw a rat in the cart he would not even bother to take it out. Considering the workers probably eat some of the meat they make you would think they would want it to be sanitary and healthy. I honestly do not understand how someone could just do that and not even have a second thought about it. In this chapter not only am I astounded by the uncleanliness but also by the amount of time the government took to pass a bill. Although there might be more to it i thought that more could have been done to help fix this corrupt situation. The Neil-Reynolds report gave Roosevelt the big stick he always liked to carry in a fight, but I felt like he did not use it like it could have been used. I did not understand why the government could not pass the bill that they had originally written. I thought ther should have been more concern for a situation that could sometimes be considered life or death. An example of this situation involves our own army. Th brave soldiers fighting in Cuba were being served rotten and chemically adulterated meats. The soldiers were not only dieing from Spanish bullets but also from poisonous meats. I think it is unacceptable they would even allow soldiers to die this way when they are bravely fighting for our country. In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act became the law of the land. Roosevelt and Beveridge both considered the final measure a triumph for reform. This chapter really showed me how detailed and involved this case was. It also showed me how all three branches have to be a part of the outcome. Overall, this chapter was very informative and shocking to me.
brooks, I completely agree with your views of the meatpacking industry and your initial reaction to the contents of the meat that was consumed back before there were expiration dates and ingredient labels. How disgusting! I also completely understand the reasoning behind your point about the government taking such a long time to pass a bill. Obviously there was a problem with the food regulations of there were rats crawling around the meat and no one there to stop them.
Collin, I completely agree with your view on this Chapter. It is amazing to me how bad the conditions of the factories actually were. What you said really made me think about how no one ever thinks to worry about getting soiled meat. i also agree with your statement that without Roosevelt the times of bad meat might have gone on for much longer. I cannot imagine having to find out that that is where my meat was coming from. I also would hate to find out what was or was not being done to the meat that I consume.
To Chris Michas I really hoped there was truly nothing abnormal about your sandwich, Chris. Can you even imagine what it would be like if the people working in the meat packing factory today desecrates your meat and the government is too lazy to stop it? Indeed, I would like strict regulations at other food preparation facilities as well such as crops. Not too long ago in the 1990’s, a European biotech company released a soil bacterium that attacked dead plant parts and left beer (not kidding) as waste, and the scientists saw that this bacteria can quickly decompose leftover plants to a usable substance very similar to the usage of all the pig except for the squeal. Before being shipped all over the world to be used on nearly every farm, an American scientist discovered that the waste that the bacterium produced was toxic to new plants making the soil unusable, so when the farmers use the bacterium, their land will bear no more crops. Luckily, news about the perils of using the bacterium reached the company which cancelled the shipment of their product. If that ship of bacterium were to reach our farms, then the entire country will starve. Another place in great need of safety regulations is a fast-food restaurant. I do not know about you, but have you heard of the rumors of the ice being dirtier than toilet water or body parts being mixed into the meat or when meat supply is low, an innocent raccoon is captured from the dumpster to make some McNuggets?
I agree with what you said that it is not fair for the meat packers to be the bad guy. However, they were considerably bad people. I do not think it was right of them to pack the meat the way they did. I believe no human being should do something that could cause the health of millions of others without feeling guilty. Possibly they could have felt guilty but needed a job to pay the bills. Any person that has moral values you would think would stand up I believe it was a selfish act for them to commit. I believe all the things the meat packers must go through to pass inspection is good and could be harsher. I believe this because this meat could be sent all around the world or the nation and cause sickness and death of innocent people. I agree however the politicians made themselves seem like heroes, probably for their campaign. Again this is a selfish act of human nature. You tend to see a thread of selfishness, but this a mistake made by many human beings. But like you I was surprised about the meat inspection and how long and complicated process it was to finally pass this bill.
The thesis of chapter ten: USDA Government Inspected is that by digging deeper into the whole meat packing scandal of the early twentieth century we can find the truth about the origin of the ordeal, the attitudes of the meat packers towards a new inspection system, and the motives of the Republican reformers and Republican conservatives. The author is trying to teach the reader that history is made up of symbolism. Symbolism’s purpose is to make complicated political issues understandable to the public. Unfortunately though, symbolism usually results in oversimplifying the political event and reducing the facts to the point that the truth can no longer be seen. I agree with the author that the symbolism that political parties and political cartoonists use turns complicated political conflicts into a good verse bad situation, where the problem is portrayed as a simple black or white decision. What I did not realize before starting this book was that it was not simply a retelling of history, but really a guide to analyzing history by studying the small details in famous events and the discreet actions of the major characters involved. At some point in school, we all learn about the story of the meat packing industry and how President Theodore Roosevelt saved the day by pushing through Congress the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. What the history books do not tell us though is the long history of the meat scandals even before Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published, the fact that the meat processing owners wanted stricter inspections, the conflict of having reforms verse having federal control over industry, and that the reformers had both a moral and a political goal. By taking away the common symbol of bad guy verse good guy, we get an intriguing story of just how the political processes of our government work. I did not know going into this chapter that the meat packing industry was not the only food industry that had terrible sanitary and working conditions. Milk dealers had been caught diluting their product with chalk and plaster. The scandal of the meat packing industry took off so well because the public was already suspicious of the whole processed food industry. When Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, he provided President Theodore Roosevelt and the public a new weapon in which they could take the offensive. A good point that the author made in this chapter was that the packers recycled every part of the animal that they could. They wasted nothing. In today’s society they might be commended for going green and recycling. Why in this time period was the packers’ careful attention to use every piece of the animal in some way looked down upon? The packers’ carefulness not to waste helped to invent many things that we use today: margarine, brushes and combs, stearin used in soaps and candles, and pepsin. We all use these things in our daily lives and never would have thought that they came from what in the early twentieth century was considered waste. I think the author’s greatest point in this reading is that the outcome of an event cannot be considered a success or a failure until it withstands the test of time. I had never thought of it this way, but I agree. You cannot look at what it had done then, but must look at its complete result now.
ReplyDeleteReed Hancock
ReplyDeleteAP Government
Belcher
Summer 2010
USDA Government Inspected
When people think of Teddy Roosevelt they think of a man who was unconquerable, he “spoke softly and carried a big stick”. He was the type of guy people thought could never be put down, and when he was tested he solved the problem no questions asked. When I started reading this chapter, I learned things about Teddy Roosevelt that I had never know about him before. He was a very strong willed man, and did what he wanted. Whenever someone doubted him he proved them wrong, and learned how to do it better. Teddy Roosevelt proved all of this when a curveball was throw at him by Upton Sinclair.
Upton Sinclair wrote the book, The Jungle, this book was formed under a socialist view. The book took a toll on the public because of what Sinclair wrote about the meat packers in the U.S. Sinclair told them about the rats, rat poison, and rat dung; that they workers would scoop off the meat to pack it. I think this would shock anyone including me, and would really make you not want to eat anymore meat for a while. The author does make sure the reader does know that the packers did use "everything but the squeal", which i believe is good that they recycle all the part. It is just cruel how they treat theses animals beforehand. For example, they way they killed these animals and the conditions they were raised in. The things Sinclair wrote about I believe are shocking that anyone would do that without guilt hanging over their heads. I am glad TR took such great action for the Meat Inspection Act, but he still knew this would not be enough. The meat packers needed to be punished and Roosevelt knew this. It seemed though that a lot of things stood in his way, but Teddy never gave up. This proves to show how strong willed of a person Teddy was, and how he was going to get his way. Even when a case was dismissed he kept fighting. People just did not understand why Teddy was not fixing the problem, or thought he was unaware. People believed this because of the symbolism they used in the political cartoons; in these they make things simple. People cannot understand all the complex details behind a situation. I believe political cartoons tend to make the public think very narrow-mindly. Teddy was not unaware and he was angered by these deficiencies in the meat packing industry. Teddy Roosevelt was going to find a way to fix the problem, and was not going to back down. He just wanted all people to treat each other fairly, and to give the public what they paid for. For example, even Milk dealers would use chalk to diluting the milk so they could sell more. The House and Senate fought about the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 for a long time. I believe this is senseless considering the things they knew with what the meat packers and other food industries were doing. Things could have gotten worse, and it could affect the health of the population. These are things they should have considered because I think if they did consider the health of the people it would have been a unanimous decision.
When I first began reading the section on the USDA, I began thinking of the food I had just eaten earlier that day. What if food preparation was as bad as it was in the early 20th century? That sandwich that I had just eaten might not be what it appeared to be. Thanks to our now very strict food regulations, I can safely assume that what I was eating was what the box claimed.
ReplyDeleteIn the early 20th century, the food regulations were quite different. Food regulation was practically nonexistent. With the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, food regulation reform was spearheaded. This was largely due to the revelation of the poor packing conditions revealed in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Roosevelt responded with the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. Roosevelt wanted inspections of the meat to happen before and after slaughter. To confirm the conditions revealed in Sinclair's work, Roosevelt commissioned the Neill-Reynolds report, which shockingly confirmed Sinclair's findings.
The horrifying descriptions of the factories utterly shocked me. The men described the factories of having mixed vile things into the meat that they were packing. No one took the time to sort out the assorted random parts that were mixed into the meat such as rat droppings, rat poisons, and even dead workers. Today, having anything but meat in your meat package is almost entirely unheard of. I can't help but wonder if these food regulations are truly followed or if corrupt inspectors accept bribes so that meat packers can maximize profits. In today's greedy, money driven world, I can full heartedly believe that such things as this still happen.
One thing that also comes to mind is conditions in other countries. As Americans, we are lucky to have such strict regulations on food. We can be confident that we know what we are biting into. In a lot of other countries, people can never be 100% sure that what they are buying is safe to eat. In these poorer countries, they essentially risk their lives just eating. If they get sick, there is no guarantee that they can afford or even find a doctor to treat them. This is especially prevalent in third world countries. This is one of the reasons why their life expectancy is so much shorter than those of people in American society.
We have come a long way since 1900. People argue for the ethical treatment of animals; some people even refuse to eat meat. We have President Roosevelt to thank for our safe food and healthy working conditions. America would be a much different place without the institution of the FDA and USDA.
Chapter Ten USDA Government Inspected discusses the use of symbolism in politics and how there can be more than two sides to every story by telling an intriguing story about a scandal in the meatpacking industry, and Teddy Roosevelt’s determination to fight the injustice of the situation. The thesis of chapter ten is that the use of symbolism in politics simplifies a story, or event, and that in order to draw an accurate conclusion to the story one must be informed of all the facts surrounding the story, not just those displayed via political symbols. The thesis is proved through the story about the meatpacking industry where through symbolism the story is reduced to Roosevelt, Sinclair and their enemies; however, the story is much more dynamic than that. Roosevelt had a past record of achievements when he was elected president of the United States. His skills had been put to the test before, but would be tested once again after the publication of the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. The book described, in detail, the horrible conditions of the meatpacking industry. The public looked to Roosevelt for guidance during this time. Roosevelt came through for the people when he signed the Meat Inspection Act. The meatpacking industry certainly needed to be reformed. But before I read this book I did not understand how unsanitary the industry was. The accounts of working conditions are disgusting. The walls were covered with slime and manure while the equipment was covered with blood and filth. Despite awful working conditions though, the meatpackers should be applauded for their innovativeness in recycling, though people of this time did not necessarily agree. They created many new products that we use on a daily basis without thinking about it. Another thing I did not know before I read this book, was that the outrage of the public is not totally attributed to Sinclair’s book, in fact most people were already skeptical about processed foods. The health standards of other processed foods such as milk dealers were no better. I think it is wrong that milk dealers were allowed to dilute their milk with chalk and plaster. I also think it is wrong that meat packers were allowed to sell products without a label on the can telling when it was made and what was in it, such as potted chicken containing no chicken at all. I think it was right for Roosevelt to push for those to be conditions of the Meat Inspection Act, though dating was ultimately not required. Despite Roosevelt’s many obstacles in reforming the meatpacking industry, he did not give up. Another fact that is often left out of the story is that many packers wanted the stricter inspection laws, and were happy when Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. With the act signed, it was now up to the executive branch to enforce it and see the true impact that it made.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “USDA Government Inspected”, I was very surprised from what I read because there are so many facts about passing the Meat Inspection Act that I was unaware of. Many times in history books I have read about how the Jungle led to Teddy Roosevelt’s decision to pass the Meat Inspection Act. But I had no clue that there was so much work and different bills that led to Roosevelt passing the Meat Inspection Act. I think that I, like most students, just read facts in my history book and think that all that happened was Roosevelt saw there was a problem with the packing industry, decided to write a new law about it, and just passes it with the support of Congress. Most people do not really go in depth enough with history to learn that there really is a lot more behind a big bill or law being passed. But I believe that sometimes it is the government’s fault for not giving the people all the information on a specific issue that they deserve to have. For example, I do not think it is right that the packers were given such a bad reputation and were not fully given a chance in public to explain themselves. I also did not think it was right how some meat-packing information was kept from the public because meat packers would beg the inspectors not to leak the bad, dirty details of their factories. Though I believe a meat-packing reform was needed, I am not a big fan of how Roosevelt and other politicians made it seem to the public like they were the heroes and the meat packers were the evil villains who love giving people bad-quality meat. Though I believe public image is very important for a politician to have, I do not believe they should manipulate the image of other people, in this case the meat packers, just so they can have a new law be supported by the public. The meat packers did need a reform on how they processed their meat, but they were not bad people like politicians made it seem; they just did not have the time or an order from their leader to make the meat packing place a cleaner environment. Meat packers actually tried to make more uses out of pig parts to benefit the public, but after politicians like Roosevelt condemned meat packers, the public ignored all the good the meat packers were doing and just saw them as bad people who created all bad products. Overall this chapter reminds me that politicians work hard to make themselves look like heroes and makes whoever they go against look like the bad guys just so the public will support the “hero” politician.
ReplyDeleteUSDA Government Inspected
ReplyDeleteThe way that the meat industry conducted business at the turn of the century was utterly appalling to me. I feel that they were greedy, my reasoning for this is that if you have all the extras, say the rats (and their waste), the poisoned bread, and humans, then the less of the actual real meat they had to buy.
Teddy Roosevelt never put up with any nonsense. It says in the book that he single-handedly rounded up a group of criminals at gun point. I think that he did the same with the meat packing industry. Roosevelt saw a need for change in the meat packing industry, and like anything else he did, he worked until it was accomplished. Roosevelt already knew of the treachery in the meat industry, but Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, provided him with more ammunition in his fight against the packers. Roosevelt told his Attorney General to bring a lawsuit against the meat packing industry under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Roosevelt learned that the judge in charge of the case dismissed the trial, and that angered him greatly. This provides grounds that the meat industry bribed the judge. The meat industry, in my opinion, is like the mafia. They do dirty work and nobody can touch them. They cover all their trails and know how to grease the palms of the right people. The way that the meat industry ties into this is that they paid the reporters to never bring out the truth about what they did.
Symbolism also played a major role in this whole story. Back then not everyone was educated, but if you make a matter humorous it is easier for everyone to understand, this is what the political cartoons did. Teddy Roosevelt appears to have been a goofy looking guy. They say he had bad eyes, and he had to wear glasses that made them look twice their size. He also had oversized front teeth. The political cartoonists had a field day when it came to Roosevelt. They always made him appear as if he were a child wearing their grandfather’s dentures. The cartoons also put everything in proportion to the size of the problem. For instance, if the cartoon was portraying big business as compared to mom and pop stores, they would make big business a large, fat man dressed in a pinstripe suit with a big fat cigar in his mouth, where as the small businesses would be a short, scrawny man with overalls and a worn out hat.
I think that this chapter is trying to portray the message of the importance of public image. We see examples of how important your image is still in today’s world. Take Tiger Woods for example, a great athlete, good role model, and a family man. This all went out the window in an instant. The same thing happened to the meat industry with the release of just one book. The health of our nation could be extremely worse that it already is if it hadn’t been for Teddy Roosevelt and Upton Sinclair.
The overall thesis of “Chapter Ten: USDA Government Inspected” is that many political processes, the three branches of government, differentiated politicians, and symbolism shape our history. In this chapter, the author uses the Meat Inspection Act at the turn of the century to show how all these different elements form the important decisions made in our country.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started this chapter, I was blown away at the conditions of the meat packing industry. After Sinclair published The Jungle, there was an uproar among citizens, politicians, and meat packers throughout America. I was surprised that The Jungle was not the first piece of work explaining the horrid conditions of the meat packing industry, but it “merely provided a new weapon for Roosevelt’s ongoing fight.” I would think that if there was any former truth provided to the public about the meat packing industry that something would be done immediately. Later in the chapter, however; I realized how difficult it is for a law to be passed to put the matter to rest.
President Roosevelt is seen as the hero in this story because of his outstanding morality and dedication. When Roosevelt hears of the controversy in the meat packing industry, he is immediately determined to solve the problem. He learns quickly that because of the rebuttal of the meatpackers and their allies, passing the Meat Inspection Act would be harder than anyone thought. An enemy opposing both Roosevelt’s side and the meatpacker’s side would be the media and symbolism. As in today’s world, the people of America are fed lies and not given both sides of many stories through the media. A common and more “justified” way of convincing us would be embellishment and exaggeration by the media. For example, Agriculture Department investigators and meatpackers told the media that Sinclair along with Neill and Reynolds had greatly over exaggerated the conditions in the plants, leaving fellow Americans without knowing what to believe. Symbolism is also guilty of leaving fellow citizens and voters under informed and confused. While symbolism aims to simplify a political problem to the public, it can easily leave out details of a story and not give both sides. Before reading this chapter, I was clueless to the fight Roosevelt had to put up in order to pass this Meat Inspection Act, because history books leave out the history of this issue.
I learned after reading this chapter that compromise is a vital part of the political process. Only because Roosevelt compromised was he able to achieve some of his goals. If he had not let go of some of his less important objectives, he would have never been able to reach his larger objective. I thought so much more of Roosevelt as a person and a politician for compromising, because he shows that history is a constant compromise. Rarely will one politician get exactly what he wants, rather; he must reach an agreement with others to make the best decision for our country. It is good to know that Roosevelt was a president that never gave up even when his “big stick had become a twig,” because he demonstrates the morale and determination more politicians need today. He serves as a great example to follow.
USDA Government Inspected:
ReplyDeleteThe general thesis in chapter ten, “USDA Government Inspected” is a mixture of the unstoppable Teddy Roosevelt and the difficult struggle he and the government had in the revealing of political processes pertaining to the meat scandal in the early nineteen hundreds. When hearing the name Teddy Roosevelt, you think automatically to one of the most famous and most influential presidents in the United States today; so to my surprise I was shocked to find out of his sickly, nearsighted, and asthmatic childhood. From being a cowboy in the west to his race to the White House, Roosevelt brings a very dedicated and hard working attitude to the table. Naturally, when The Jungle reaches the public, Teddy sees this as a perfect opportunity to “carry a big stick”. Sinclar’s writing tells unfavorable stories of the packers, for example it describes the way the packers would leave poisoned bread out for the rats; they would die; and then the bread the meat and the rats would all go into the big hoppers together. The packers would ignore the rats completely and move on with the job that had to be done. The description of not only the working conditions, but also the description of the meat in general is revolting in my opinion. I was surprised to know The Jungle wasn’t the first publication of meat scandals. After the news of Sinclar’s stories, the Neill-Reynolds report rocked Teddy Roosevelt’s world next suggesting they had found even worse conditions than stated in The Jungle. I knew that sometimes the government is full of under the radar connections and things of that nature, but the way Wadsworth and Lorimer undermine Teddy Roosevelt and the Beveridge bill is pretty shocking including when they. All the trouble they go to going behind his back to cover up for the Neill-Reynolds report is crazy including when they sent the Beveridge bill to the Agriculture Committee where Wadsworth and Lorimer were both members. The Neill-Reynolds report obviously gave Teddy Roosevelt the big stick he loved to carry into this particular political battle. I learned that not only was Roosevelt a thoughtful man, but also very good at compromising. He manages to compromise with Wadsworth to come up with what Teddy says “as good as the Beveridge amendment”. I found out that in this situation with the meat scandal all three branches of the government can change the outcome.
After I finished reading this section, I realized that I had learned a great deal more about politics in the 1900s and the conflict with the meat packing industry. In school, you are only taught small details about this incidence, but this book revealed so much more. I knew that symbols greatly influenced politics during this century, but I was unaware that symbolic representations inevitably oversimplified the political process to the point of distortion. As the author states, distortion arises because symbols come to personalize complex situations and processes. I agree with the author that political historians have to handle symbolic language with caution, and cannot allow them to obscure information. The account of the meat-inspection law is condensed to the tale of Roosevelt, Sinclair, and their enemies. When I eat canned meat, I know for a fact that it does not contain bits of rat and other unwanted animal parts. I have Theodore Roosevelt and the Meat Inspection Act to thank for. I did not know that The Jungle was merely a final chapter in the conflict against the packers. Problems with American meat products had appeared as early as the 1870s when European governments had begun to ban goods. I was surprised to learn that Roosevelt had seen his troops die from poisonous meats, and he was aware of the situation far before The Jungle arose. There were no laws protecting American consumers, and I can’t imagine how they must have felt. Once a carcass passed the inspector, the government had no further power. Congress never allocated enough money for an inspection force that got the job done. Thankfully, Roosevelt was ready to fix the problem. The problem was not singled to the meatpacking industry. Other food industries such as milk dealers also polluted their products to increase profits. I would’ve hated to live during the 1900s where I would be unsure of what was safe to eat and drink. I realize that politicians cast issues in black and white, but I believe that the packers were the villains. My feelings are reinforced by how packers established chemical research labs to take recycling to the next level. They created a variety of products out of wastes once flushed down the sewers. I would have been paranoid about everything I used if I knew that innovators created them from ground bones, hooves, feet, and others. However, once The Jungle appeared, the packers’ success was lost. I did not know that Sinclair received information from The Lancet for his piece. The Jungle added much fuel to the fire by proving that the horrifying conditions of the industry were true, but even it was not enough to persuade conservatives. Roosevelt employed Neill and Reynolds to undertake an independent investigation. Their reports shocked me greatly. The equipment used rotted in filth and blood, and meat scraps for canning sat in piles on the floor. These findings reinforced Sinclair’s accusations and allowed Roosevelt to carry his big stick into the political fight. Roosevelt may have faced many difficulties in getting his act passed, but I am thankful for his determination. I couldn’t imagine living in the United States today if the meatpacking industry remained unchanged.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapter, “USDA Government Inspected,” the thesis was clear to me: politics are not always what they seem in black and white. Often, symbols replace a complex circumstance to make an event simpler for the average person to understand. Davidson and Lytle state by using symbols, “[the] symbols and symbolic language serve as a means of communication between political leaders and their constituencies.” Meaning, symbols can get the public involved and portray the leaders as working hard to accomplish significant matters. Davidson and Lytle states that many times symbols do not always satisfactorily portray the political events; symbols can be used to persuade an audience either toward or against a select group of people.
ReplyDeleteThe horrors of the meat packing industry appalled me because I never realized the unsanitary means of the packers. We, as students, have always been taught about the conditions of the meat packing industry in the early twentieth century and how Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, but I have never studied this controversy in such great detail before. The chapter has opened my eyes about what is actually in our food. Are the contents of our food actually what they say on the carton or bag? The worry of unsanitary food is one Americans can leave in the past because of the regulations made by President Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the twentieth century with the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. After reading the chapter, I could not believe how the packers could allow rats, poisoned bread, and even deceased humans into the meat. I cannot grasp how anyone could allow contaminated meat to be sent out to American families and even to other countries. Members of the packers’ family, especially their children, could be eating the unsanitary meat; is that not enough for the packers to reform their unhealthy, habitual ways? Even after other countries stopped importing meat from the United States, packers still were unmoved to reform; this surprised me greatly because the packing companies were loosing money. I now wonder if Upton Sinclair never wrote and published his controversial book, “The Jungle,” would the meat packing industry ever be changed? No one knows; one can only hope. While reading the chapter, I was wondering if today’s meat is clean and if Roosevelt’s Meat Inspection Act truthfully regulates the meat packing industry. With today’s economy in such a terrible state, I would not be surprised if packing companies add substances to their meat in order to use less meat and to gain more money.
Actually James La Russa said...
ReplyDeleteThe comprehensive thesis of "Chapter Ten: USDA Government Inspected" involves the overextensive work put into correcting the corrupt and fraudulent ways of the American Meatpacking Industry. The ways both sides, the reformers and the conservatives, mutated and distorted their ideas to persuade the public to take one's side interested me the most, for one's "truth was inclusively different from another's. Two reformers, Neill and Reynolds, were sent to a meat packing industrial center to understand what went on inside of these centers, for they had heard many rumors including descriptions of unsanitary matter, such as pig skin and rats, which is thrown into the meat sent around the country. They returned with more drastic and substandard reviews than Roosevelt had heard from other reviwers. Ironically, the conservative reviwers noted that no critical changes needed to occur, for nothing major was wrong. These two monumental differences seem to paradoxically contrast because both sides distorted the truth to shadow the actuality of the situation under convincing lies. Sinclair's Jungle seemed to fall in the middle of these two extremes; however, it did not bring the greatest review of the meat packing industry either. Therefore, the ultimate decision of reform fell on the burly and confident shoulders of Theodore Roosevelt. I believe Roosevelt was biased toward the reformer's side, for a number of his Rough Riding men died from food poisoning. However, he acted as an impartial ruler and ultimately settled the dispute between the reformers and conservatives by proving that the conservatives were wrong to run their business in an unsanitary manner; therefore, he was able to lean toward reform with his passed bill, which called for a more strict inspection of the meat packing insustry.
USDA Government Inspected
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this section, my first reaction was just utter disgust. In my past history classes, we had never really gone into much detail on the meat inspection controversy so I was very surprised at the majority of what I read. I knew that the meat industry used to be very unsanitary, but the details repulsed me. I had no idea of anything that happened in the meatpacking places, or the conditions under which they were done.
After reading about Teddy Roosevelt's impact on the controversy, I now respect him on an entirely new level. The authors of After The Fact clearly displayed Roosevelt as a hero right off the bat, as they flat out told the reader that he was indeed the hero. But then they go on to tell of his stories of riding with the Rough Riders, ranching in Dakota, and even playing an extreme amount of tennis. All of these are irrelevant other than showing how determined Roosevelt had always been, and were likely included primarily to raise the reader's image of Roosevelt. Well, it worked.
I admire the way Roosevelt handled the controversy that he was forced to reckon with. After seeing even the possibility that what Sinclair said in his book, The Jungle, could be true, he immediately brought out a bill that banned the meat packers from any unhealthy dyes, chemical preservatives, or adulterants. Four months later, it was signed into law as the Meat Inspection Act. To me, this already proved that Roosevelt was truly a president of and for the people, and would do anything possible to protect American citizens. Even when it seemed as if the government could do no more because of lack of power versus the industry, Roosevelt continued to push towards making the meat industry a more sanitary place at all costs. In the end, Roosevelt had to settle for a bill that was less than perfect in his opinion, but I believe that having a President with ANY less determination and stubbornness than Roosevelt, the bill would have been much, much more lenient and would have had very little impact on the meatpacking industry.
I am very glad that this meatpacking industry controversy came up in 1906 because with the laws and regulations that became of it, the meat we eat today is now much more clean and sanitary than it may have been. For knowing the details of the Government Inspection, I now feel better off as far as knowing that the meat I eat is healthy and okay.
Buddy, I 100% agree with you when you said that politics are not always what they seem. This chapter is just one example of how the government sometimes tries to keep some of the facts from the public, hoping to manipulate the public into believing something without knowing all of the facts of an issue. I agree with you that the government uses symbols as a way for the public to know enough facts to be passionate towards an issue, but normally the symbols don't tell enough about the certain issue; it seems that the government uses symbolism to try to avoid the public learning the negative effects of a bill or law they want to pass. Also, you wrote about an issue i did not even think about-how today's economy is affecting the meat packing indestry. Reluctantly, I agree with you that in order to save money, the meat packers are probably using less meat and more artificial substances in our meat. It seems that whenever the economy down, the quality of goods goes down too.
ReplyDeleteEmily Espy,
ReplyDeleteI was just as surprised as you when I read this section. Like you, I was unaware of the work and bills that led up to the Meat Inspection Act. In school, I also only learned about how The Jungle influenced Teddy Roosevelt. I must disagree with some of the things you said. I believe that the packers deserved the bad reputation they got and earned it by how they supplied meat to the public. They explained themselves well enough by doing this. However, I agree with you that meat-packing information should not have been kept from the public. I also agree that Roosevelt should not have portrayed himself as a hero battling the villains. My opinion of the meat-packers varies a little from yours. I thought that the meat-packers were bad people who only asked for reforms and inspection laws to regain the public’s trust. The fact that they made items from sewage material greatly disturbed me. Maybe Roosevelt had to portray himself as a hero in order to end the unsanitary methods of the meat-packers.
What I interpreted as the thesis of “USDA Government Inspected” is that the political processes that shape our history are too complex to be put in an oversimplified political cartoon or one sentence that solely tells the outcome; one must go through the entire story in order to fully appreciate, understand, and teach what really happened. Specifically, in this chapter, the story is about the meat scandal during the early nineteen hundreds and all the effort put forth in the Meat Inspection Act. Upton Sinclair’s socialistic and reform oriented book The Jungle spread like wildfire through America after it was published. I had read several times in my history classes about his book but I didn’t realize the severity of the insanitation; I had no idea that dead workers sometimes fell and were mixed in with the meat which is vastly disturbing. I also felt sympathy for the workers who not only had been doing their jobs with manure on the walls, little lighting, and blood-stained hands but also were now being spat and looked down upon by American citizens and officials. Teddy Roosevelt is deemed the hero of this story and begins his long struggle to pass the Meat Inspection Act immediately after The Jungle is released. I was proud that our past president put his views towards Sinclair socialistic opinion aside and does what he knows is right for his country. I like how the author mentions how politicians are treated like “celebrities” most of the time; this is a completely different perspective that I had never thought about but realized is exceptionally true even today. Another thing I never recognized is how political cartoons and symbols act as a portal of communication between politically informed people and those who are politically naive. The journalist who studies politics is able to simplify his or her opinion of a recent political event for the American citizens to understand by using symbols to represent people, places and things. On the other hand, I saw how the symbolic representations often end up distorting political people’s intentions or actions. A new fact I learned from this chapter is that other food industries had little to no sanitary requirements just like the meatpacking industry. I now appreciate the security and safety measures taken in order to deliver the American people clean and healthy foods. In addition, I discovered that the meat packers actually intelligently recycled almost all parts of the pig to create more profit for them and less waste for the environment. It was sad how the American citizens looked over this good deed of the meat packers and focused on the mistakes they had made regarding sanitation. Teddy Roosevelt’s perseverance towards passing this act should be applauded by generations to come; even when the odds were not in his favor, Teddy stood his ground. He should also be commended for his ability to compromise and meet in the middle with the opposing side in order to fulfill his goal; this is a key step in getting the Meat Inspection Act passed because if he hadn’t compromised and instead focused on the little things he couldn’t give up then the Act most likely would not have been passed. In the end, this story taught me to appreciate the sanitation laws we have now and to respect our president Teddy Roosevelt who never gave up.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapter entitled "USDA Government Inspected," I've come to the conclusion that the thesis involves the corruptness of the meatpacking industry as being one of the obstacles that President Teddy Roosevelt faced during his presidency at the beginning of the twentieth century. The authors of After The Fact go into much deeper detail than most history textbooks I have read in the past few years. The intense details really shock me the most while reading about what all goes into the meats in the meatpacking industry. I was appalled when I read in the text about all of the horrid contaminants that went into the same vats that the meats went into. I cannot even begin to imagine the contaminants such as countless numbers of rodents and their feces in the food of many innocent citizens. What really surprises me is that these men working in the meat industry knew about these unnecessary and harmful ingredients being mixed with the meat and pork; the workers were letting the poisons that were used to exterminate the rats slip into the processing machines with the meat. Although these stories seem too unrealistic and fake, the nation’s meat packing industry really did struggle and put other people’s lives in danger. If the meat industry was still like that today I would be very concerned. My everyday meals would put my life in danger due to the overwhelming numbers of dangers. Thankfully, with the help of our nation’s leader, the problems of the industry were finally solved; a reformer named Upton Sinclair thankfully gave a thorough examination and made his results available for the public to read. The public obviously grew concerned about the problems that it faced, and they first turned to their president, Theodore Roosevelt for help. It did not take long for Roosevelt to organize a conference with Upton Sinclair about the improvements that needed to be made immediately. As one of the noblest presidents in the United States history, Roosevelt kept his promise of solving the problems of the meat packing industry. Along with members of Conference, he proposed a solution only four months later. His new bill was called the Meat Inspection Act which prohibited any workers from using any sort of unsanitary dyes or adulterants. The bill allowed for inspectors to be supervising the mills at all times. Overall, United States citizens were now able to live without worrying about losing their lives after they eat a family dinner; all thanks goes to a man who went through many struggles in his lifetime such as being sickly, asthmatic, and nearsighted as a child.
ReplyDeleteThe USDA Government Inspected chapter of Davidson’s and Lytle’s After the Fact dives behind the scenes of the passage of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This era is also known as the Progressive Era with the uprising of the Progressive political view. The progressives’ beliefs were based on the welfare of the citizens of the nation, but primary the middle and lower class. Being that the opening of the 20th century was filled with scandals and corruption that harm the average citizen, the progressives were quite active. With the economy so unstable, most people would do anything for a profit; for example, cremators would burn logs rather than corpses because they are cheaper to burn as to human flesh. But the spark of the war against the meat packing industry was made by Upton Sinclair’s Jungle which described the disgusting details of the work conditions of a meat packing factory. But rather than putting blame on the factories themselves, the book degrades the inspectors of the factories and the system that they ran on. The president at this time was Theodore Roosevelt who may be my favorite president being that he revolutionized the political field while he was in office. Roosevelt had prior history with the meat packing industry. When leading fighting in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, the Rough Riders led by Roosevelt received meat from a meat packing factory and many fell to the rotten and adulterated meat. Instead of being killed by the enemy, Roosevelt’s men were taken down by their own country’s greedy actions of corruption. Naturally, when The Jungle was published, the public was disgusted by the contents describing the atrocities within the meat packing factories and pointed the finger to the government, and as a progressive, Roosevelt answered the people. A full out war broke out between the government and the powerful meat packing trust whom terrorized the people of the United States. This trust was a real thief of the public giving them the choice to pay outrageous prices or let families starve. Both the government and the meat packing trust sorted out their allies and their legislative arsenal as they prepare to engage in bloody combat in both the court and the media. The general public is able to witness this war through muckrakers and political cartoons. The meat packing trust put up a fierce fight, but in the end, Roosevelt’s progressive reign pulled through and killed the beast with the Meat Inspection Act. The government now gains the much needed power to begin reforms within the nation, but will the government gain too much power?
ReplyDeleteSam, although I do agree with you that what the meat packing industry did was appalling and simply disgusting, I do not think greediness was the problem. I think the biggest issue was simply that the workers and people running the factory were too lazy and simply did not care enough to improve the sanitary conditions of the factory and the food being processed. I do not believe that these people were purposefully out to get the American consumers that were buying the poisoned and unsanitary products, but as I said before simply lazy and possibly ignorant. I also disagree with you about the extent of Teddy Roosevelt’s heroism. I do not think he is quite the hero that our history books paint him out to be. From reading this chapter, I gained a new insight of Teddy Roosevelt, the meat scandal, and some of the true motives of all the parties involved. Your analogy of the meat packing industry and a mafia is very clever, but obviously not altogether true because people can “touch them” and they cannot always “cover all their trails” and “grease the palms of the right people.” Teddy Roosevelt and his supporters attacked the meat packing industry for their scandalous actions. Upton Sinclair exposed their terrible secrets, and the meat packers could not persuade or bribe everyone into their bidding. In the end, the Meat Inspection Act was passed and that is the most important point! The rest is history…
ReplyDeletesaid...
ReplyDeleteUpton Sinclair is a socialist, whose sole purpose of writing The Jungle was to expose the exploitation of the average American factory worker in the early 1900s. The novel was also meant to illustrate his dislike of capitalism. Unfortunately, rather than the public focusing on Sinclair’s message, his underlying meaning was lost on the American public who were only fixated on the safety of their meat. These unsanitary conditions and the products produced by the meat processing industry, as communicated by Sinclair, scandalized America. There was so much concern among the American people that President Theodore Roosevelt had no choice but to take action. The President needed to create a solution that would placate the outraged citizens. However, the meat packing industry would not be brushed aside quietly. Several of the nation’s leading meat packers exerted enough power and control over the market to monopolize the market. Yet, the federal government gained the upper hand due to the investigative efforts of Charles P. Neill, Commissioner of Labor, and James Reynolds, a New York attorney. Even though Congress was prepared to take recess for six weeks, President Roosevelt did not worry about the issue losing momentum; he had more damning facts available that were ready for print. By withholding their horrific discoveries from several meat packing factories, President Roosevelt could force almost any restriction on the meat packing industry. The meat packers understood their dire situation and were ready to negotiate. However, their suggestions and solutions were weak and would accomplish no real change and they were totally unwilling to concede to the issues that would reduce their income. The reoccurring proposal from the meat packers was to allow the meat packers a set period of time to upgrade and clean up. When that time expired, their factories and then the inspectors would again be invited to inspect the facilities. This plan offered no permanent solution and did not deal with the control of the market by a few private companies dominating the industry. If the prosecutors had only held their cards a little while longer, they would have been able to achieve the goals in which they had originally set out to accomplish. Yet, it was not meant to be. Upton Sinclair’s frustration with the President’s inability to arrive at a resolution to the problem actually inhibited the prosecutions leverage. Sinclair leaked the Neill and Reynolds report along with more of his personal findings to the New York Times. Those findings from Sinclair exposed even more shocking details. Now, its defenders and the entire meat packing industry had no fear of the prosecutors because the worst had already been revealed. This one single move cost the reformers most of their cases. When finally passed, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 lacked dating, head fees, and left the courts as the final judge of the Secretary of Agriculture’s rulings. These issues were disregarded in order to achieve some of the more important points that needed to be dealt with, such as sanitation. The verdicts and decisions made later on down the road, like with the new wave of reformers in 1968, would provide the American people with the restrictions and stipulations, which we have grown accustomed to today. By reading this passage, I have come to the conclusion that the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was too little too late.
Hope,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about several things. I completely agree with you when you said that our history is far too complex to condense. By not getting the whole story, citizens are left confused and unaware about what is going on in their own country. Although we are taught simplified versions of incidents like the Meat Inspection Act in our textbook, it is much more stimulating and interesting to read about the whole story and how it unfolded. I also agree with what you said about President Roosevelt. Because of Sinclair’s socialist views, Roosevelt could have completely ignored The Jungle and the uprising it caused throughout the country. Throughout the story, Roosevelt was able to put aside his pride to help the country; like when he compromises when he could have only accepted exactly what he wanted.
I do not share the pity that you had for the workers in the meat industry. The fact that the workers knew about the disgusting conditions and meat that the meat industry had and would not do something about it makes me angry. Even if they were being advised to serve the false meat, they should not have gone through with it. Also, using the whole pig (everything but the snout) does not seem sanitary if you ask me. I see the meat packing industry and all the workers as the main enemy in this story.
"Chris Michas, as expected you wrote a thought provoking and intriguing post. Sadly, i agree with your thinking concerning the third world countries. The food inspection situations in damaged and poorer countries, such as Haiti, brings to mind sad images of orphans going to food shelters and eating the 'scraps of food' for other nations that sent defunct food. Addressing your thought that the food regulations in the USA might not always be followed to the letter, i believe for the most part they are, noting how the medical profession can now test for such food poisoning. In our lawsuit-scared nation, manufactures and inspection units are provided with financial incentives to do a good job. Teddy Roosevelt, with many incentives himself for reform, did a decent job getting the message out to the public, despite any ulterior motives. Taking into account different food bank information, remember that the disadvantaged in this country do not always eat approved' food. Recently, at a food bank i helped unpack a large shipment of vegetables that was so smitten with maggots, mud, and flies, that we had to throw it and two other shipments away, a donated $ amount in the hundreds.
ReplyDeleteChris Michas, I thought the same thing as I was reading this book about food that I had eaten earlier that day, and that week. I agree with you when you said the conditions of the factories were shocking! It is gross that rat droppings, poisons, and dead workers were mixed into the meat! I like your point about today’s greedy money driven world. I agree that I could see it happening. It is sad that people in other countries have to risk their life just to eat, and we are lucky in America to have the strict food regulations.
ReplyDeleteThe thesis of USDA Government Inspected is in my opinion very easy to recognize. The author tries to explain the complexities of historical happenings, and justify how every individual could have completely different opinions based on where they gain their information and who they decide to listen to about the happenings. It was stated very clearly in the book "that history is not black and white". With the countless political cartoons, speeches and bills being passed through Congress and the Senate, the people of this time did not know who to believe; Upton Sinclair or the filthy meat packers? Although the details that the book projects are filthy and totally repulsive; i believe that many people might have overlooked the idea that Upton was a avid socialist, who disliked capitalism extremely. His publishing of the sickening details definately called for action and reform; but whether or not it called for such an outcry I can't be sure. Teddy did the right thing by doing all he could to reform the meatpacking companies, and fight extremely hard for the reforms to take place. ALthough the changes were long overdue for the sickening conditions; they eventually were enforced and changed the industry forever. The exposure hurt the meat companies in many ways, but i believe that if they were so disgusting in their ways of work and packaging, don't they deserve the embarrassment that came about in the exposure and political cartoons? I think that this chapter delved into the true nature of history ( more than just the packing houses) it teaches one to believe that not everything is seen in black and white. Cartoons portray one aspect, the senate and house another, and that it is up to the average person to research and eventually decide what they choose to believe.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on USDA Government Inspected: The meat packing industry in the early 20th Century desperately needed to be inspected and reformed. Teddy Roosevelt had this issue brought to his attention when Upton Sinclair wrote the book, “The Jungle”. In his book, he detailed the horrors of the meat industry. I was personally shocked by what was going into the meat that the people of that day were consuming. Rat feces, bones, contaminated meat, and more disgusting things were being shoved into the same vats that made the food that was eaten my many families on the dinner tables. The fact that Roosevelt was willing to fight so hard for the American people showed his good character and strong heart. However, members of Congress who were on the side of the meat packers met Roosevelt with stiff opposition. How anyone could side with them is behind me, because anyone who sided with the meat packers meant siding with someone who was hurting the American public. Restrictions that Roosevelt wanted to put on the packers included pre and post-mortem inspection of the cows, dates on packages of meat saying when they were made, and to be subject to random inspection by inspectors sent by the government. These restrictions were more than fair in my opinion, because the packers were only hurting the American public, and anything to keep people safe is worth it. The meat packers were more concerned with money than they were with the safety of their consumers, which revealed just how corrupt they were. The meat packers had hoped to stall the bill from passing until Congress was dismissed for a break, hoping that by the time Congress resumed the public outcry over the meat packing industry would have died down. The meat packers were successful, but Roosevelt eventually passed a bill that prevented the packers from using dyes and adulterants, which contained chemicals that would be potentially harmful to their consumers, and allotted time for inspection of the meat packing mills at all hours of the day. However, the bill did not force the packers to put the date at which the meat was made, so the consumer could have been eating meat a day old, or a year old. In the end, I believe a fair compromise was made. It may not have been the best bill, but it was better than no bill. I believe the public was happy with the bill, and because of this bill we do not have to worry about consuming meats at our dinner table that could cause us to become sick.
ReplyDeletewhen i printed out the assignment about a month ago, i didn't see anything about the including of what we thought the thesis was, so i apoligize for not including that in the beginning of my post...
ReplyDeletehere it is.
I believe that the thesis of "USDA Government Inspected" involves a very bold and determined President Roosevelt and his battle against the unsanitary meat industry, which included an intense political battle for a suitable bill.
To further my response, because the rest got deleted:
ReplyDeleteWhether or not it was correct; the horrid stories about dead bodies in the meat; blood and filth covering the machines and the horrible conditions of the factory not to mention the use of all pig parts (except the snout??) could be the result of the lack of governmental knowledge on the factories and their products. The time it took for the bill to be passed through Senate and the House took too long; and almost seemed to lax for the horrifying conditions once they were proved by the private investigators. Although everyone wanted to take action and fix the problem; it was not an immediate fix and I think it took time for Teddy to realize that he could not just miraculously fix it overnight, and that it took time and much persuading. Upton Sinclair’s book drew attention to an important issue that many had been overlooking; and after much debating and fighting for a suitable bill; but was it suitable? Or was it to lax? Did the meat packers get too much of what they wanted? I think so. I would have fought for harder laws, but then again a quick fix was needed. After much consideration and thinking; I’m still not sure what I would have done in Teddy’s situation.
emily duvall...
ReplyDeleteyour final sentence saying that the Meat Inspection Act was too little to late was just how I interpretted it. Although Teddy Roosevelt was right in finally taking action and working to get the law passed; by the time it was most companies had already cleaned up their acts and were not so much affected by the law. Not to mention the fact that they still had very lax conditions and not as many inspections as were needed. However, I somewhat disagree with the fact that Sinclair wanted to expose the average 1900s factory worker. I don't believe he wanted so much exposure, but a more viable way to get his political ideas across in a large manner. One that would sink in and grab the heartstrings of the American public and touch them at a core; the food that almost all Americans consumed, was filthy. With this astounding fact, he hoped to in many ways promote his socialism values by proving that the government needed more control; but instead most people were more concerned with their consumption of rotting meat. I think you had a very valid point though, and i do agree that when the bill eventually was put into action it was to lax and to late.
After reading and analyzing “USDA Government Inspected,” the thesis became clear; Teddy Roosevelt was a very head strong person whether in his normal life or his presidency. This enabled him to quickly resolve issues such as the meat packaging nightmare that unfolded. When reading ,“USDA Government Inspected,” I found myself wondering how the disgusting practices of the meat packing industry were allowed to go on, seemingly under the radar of government officials. Certainly someone else besides Upton Sinclair had to be getting a whiff of what was going on in these meat packaging warehouses other than the corrupt inspectors that were obviously not doing their job. Thankfully, Sinclair took action and published his findings, though in a manner that also put in many plugs for Socialism. However, due to the repulsive nature of the findings in the book, no one paid too much attention to the push on Socialism. On the other hand, much attention was paid to the meat packaging scandal that was thrown in Roosevelt’s lap. Shortly after Roosevelt got wind of this “stink,” laws were passed to prevent and correct the horrific conditions in packaging warehouses. It was made clear to the public that Teddy Roosevelt was a diligent fighter for the American public. History also backs this up in relation to Roosevelt’s early days. Roosevelt was a sickly child, but that did not stop him from fighting his illness. According to the chapter, Roosevelt would work out for hours on end “to build a body as robust as his mind.” There are many other instances of his strength when he went out West to take up ranching. Even in his tennis matches back East, he showed lots of determination by playing a record 91 games in a day. Needless to say, Roosevelt wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his citizens’ prosperity. Therefore, he implemented pre and post mortem inspections of the cows, expiration dates on meat packages, and random inspections of meat packaging facilities across the United States administered by the government. In addition to random inspections, certain chemicals were no longer allowed, such as harmful dyes and adulterants. This wave of significant changes in process enraged some meat packers because they felt as if they were being targeted by the government. I can only see Roosevelt’s new requirements as fair and just because it combats the disgusting practices of the packers and protects the citizens.
ReplyDeleteMy initial response to reading After the Fact was that it was overflowing with facts, which made it almost impossible to absorb and comprehend the majority of the text. This book allows the reader to learn more than they ordinarily know because textbooks merely highlight an event rather than magnifying the individual components that caused it to happen. The thesis of “USDA Government Inspected” involves the meat packing industry controversy as a critical struggle during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, and symbols in history are used to portray the outcomes in complex situations. Just as this book is mixed with many confusing and incomprehensible components, history is of the same fashion; the complete understanding of history is unattainable. Political symbols are utilized for elucidating certain complex situations and clarifying their outcomes. Political cartoonists and caricaturists have existed for centuries. I was surprised to realize that a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, was credited for first envisioning the elephant as a representation for the Republicans and the donkey as a portrayal of the Democrats. The cartoons and symbols actually impacted political involvements such as presidential elections. The public could make themselves more familiar with a certain candidate because they recognized certain cartoons or nicknames that were chosen to represent the politicians. One of the most recognizable politicians in the business is Teddy Roosevelt because he was often caricatured with his big stick. The meat packing industry controversy of his presidency put me into a state of utter disgust. Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle publicized the filthy and unfavorable conditions under which the meat and pork were processed. Countless numbers of rats and other rodents merged into the same vats and containers as the meat; along with the rats and mice came their feces. The workers at the time would shockingly not even attempt to remove unnecessary and unwanted contaminants that mistakenly combined with the meats. Sinclair told of times in which men would even fall into the various containers and be cooked and processed along with the meat. The piece of information that bothers me the most is that the innocent citizens were not exposed to the knowledge concerning the contaminants being in their everyday meals. They were vulnerably consuming rats, feces, and even poisons daily. As a prevailing leader, Theodore Roosevelt was able to conquer the problem of the meat industry with a bill called the Meat Inspection Act. The bill cleaned up the unsanitary factories by prohibiting workers from using any unhealthy dyes or chemicals along with adulterants. An inspection system was also established, which allowed for there to be government inspectors supervising the factories at all times. Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt, I can eat my food without worrying about losing my life or becoming ill.
ReplyDeleteCaleb Smith
ReplyDeleteAP Government
Belcher
Summer 2010
USDA GOVERNMENT INSPECTED
This chapter was mildly disturbing. I am just glad that I live in the period where inspections are required. McDonalds is still questionable but besides that I can be relatively certain that when I eat a meat product it is what the labeling says it is, and I can be even more confident that there will not be rat feces embedded in my hamburger. Thank you President Theodore Roosevelt and company. There can be no mistaking the fact that the Meatpackers were wrong in their actions and in the vulgar things that they did to gain profits, but I think that the main point of this chapter is to show the complexity of the United States Government and the effort that must be put in to accomplish change. I believe the author is attempting to show how hard it is to change long cemented traditions.
In this chapter I learned a lot about the history of one of my favorite subjects, food. It seems that Theodore Roosevelt who was often dubbed the trustbuster tackled one of the major trusts in the meatpacking industry of Chicago.
Theodore Roosevelt had always been tenacious and willing to go as far as it took to accomplish his goals. When it came to his terms as President he bull rushed the task with the enthusiasm he had always devoted to tasks. After the release of the book The Jungle, Roosevelt was horrified to learn of the atrocities in the meat market during the early 1900's. And he tackled the ordeal in order to 1. Protect the American general public from diseases and harmful products. 2. An attempt to break up a Trust, in this situation the Meatpacking trust. Roosevelt was a quasi progressivist and believed that breaking up Trusts would provide a more level playing field for the American Society. The author hints in this chapter that perhaps The Jungle simply provided Theodore Roosevelt with a reason to go after the meatpacking industry. Theodore Roosevelt also seemed to have taken issue with the meatpacking industry as early as1897 when diseased meat had been sent to his Rough Riders in Cuba. However, whatever the reason for his doing so, Theodore Roosevelt continued to push for a Meat Inspection Act. Through a series of compromises Roosevelt was able to have his main goals pushed across.
An important central theme of this chapter is that Roosevelt realized that in order to make progress sacrifices must also be made. He worked tirelessly for reform and when he realized that he would not be able to accomplish all of his goals he took it only as a minor setback and continued to push forward with his reform. Keeping the bigger picture in mind. Roosevelt is the hero of this story. Thanks to him I can now be assured that I will not die from rat poison. This chapter is about perseverance. President Roosevelt was the perfect representation of this trait. This is truly an example of the American government beating the odds and moving forward to progress.
Sam Isert:
ReplyDeleteI am with you 100% in regards to the meat packaging facilites being completely unsanitary and down right disgusting. I'm sure that many people reading Sinclair's work spit up their pork roast after reading about those rats! However, I don't necissarily agree with the packers being all to concerned with money/ greed. I do not believe that these packers were all about screwing over the American public with unsanitary food products. On the other hand, money may come into play when talking about the packers' wages. Obviously the job is not going to be a lucrative position. Most likely, the workers were uneducated and unaware of proper treatment and handeling of the meat. This could have been easily prevented by the packaging facility managers/owners, but there weren't enough regulations to cause that to happen.
Gil,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on every account. First off it is a lot of information to digest but it is presented in a very understandable format. And wildly enough I found that this chapter was interesting! Secondly, I agree with your statement that the public has every right to know what they are eating.
"The piece of information that bothers me the most is that the innocent citizens were not exposed to the knowledge concerning the contaminants being in their everyday meals."
It is disgusting to think that people would be so twisted as to just let a worker fall into meat and do nothing about it. Imagine the lawsuits that would occur today! The idea alone of the way conditions used to be is simply revolting. Theodore Roosevelt has definitely saved us all a lot of sickness by spearheading this issues so ferociously. Your topics are well organized and I enjoyed reading another student's work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe point of USDA Government Inspected was to show the reader how what seems like a simple occurrence actually starts several levels deeper. The passing of a meat inspection law can easily be traced to Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle, but it can be traced even further back. History is not black or white; it is very complex. Looking below the surface is imperative to gaining a full understanding.
ReplyDeleteChapter 10 was my least favorite because I think it frightened me. I cannot imagine eating food of such a low quality. If steps had never been taken, it is possible people would still eat such unhealthy meats and suffer unnecessary illness as a result. This makes me think of people in other countries that live in dangerously detrimental environments. It makes me glad to be in America where there are health standards. I cannot fathom ingesting rat feces and other disgusting ingredients. Being able to read the label on a can and trust what it is saying is something I have always taken for granted.
In this chapter, I saw that the government needs to step in and influence business sometimes, but I felt like the way it does so can be highly inefficient. By tacking additional laws onto unrelated bills, the government manages to sneak some laws into action without any sort of public hearing. I strongly believe that the voice of the people should be the key to how the government takes action. At the same time, I do not see how anyone could side with the meat packers because they were harming the American public. I am thankful for everyone who supported Theodore Roosevelt and allowed him to pass inspection acts.
The thing I liked about this chapter was the way it recognized “compromise as an essential feature of the political process”. It showed how Democrats and Republicans can have very different ideas but still create a bill both sides agree on. Roosevelt had to pick the points he found the most important and eliminate others in order for the agreement to come about, and I think it is important to understand the way Democrats and Republicans interact. It is amazing to me that we can have two groups that are so very different yet have very little physical confrontation between the two.
It was appalling to me that a business owner could live with the knowledge that they are poisoning their consumers. This is a greedy and economic based way to handle a business. Concentrating only on money is something some people still do, and reading this made me wonder if the only thing that makes today different is the health inspection law.
Caleb -
ReplyDeleteI was also appalled with the filthy conditions in meat packaging warehouses..and I couldn't agree more about McDonald's too! Reading this chapter makes me very thankful for a diligent person like Teddy Roosevelt. Without his quick reaction to Sinclair's shocking discovery, the laws passed may have been put into effect even later than they were already. I'm just thankful it happened when it happened.
The thesis of Chapter 10 USDA Government Inspected is that we learned of the conditions meat packers worked in, how they processed it, and the effort put in to correct the corrupt business.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this section of the novel, I was extremely appalled at the details. I mean I have eaten some pretty nasty stuff, but the things mentioned in the book have no chance of ending up in my mouth. It really is unbelievable that these meat factories were producing crap, which other people we eating. But thanks to Roosevelt and strict regulations today, we can eat our food without worrying about the possibility of eating rats. It is just amazing how there was absolutely no food regulation during the early 1900s. However, with Roosevelt in office and his positive attitude, he made sure that some sort beneficial change would be made. While reading this section, I became puzzled when I thought of how did Upton Sinclair even get this information? It is great that she did because without the publishing of The Jungle, we still might not have any food regulations. Immediately, Roosevelt took matter into his own hands and announced the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. It provided a tougher inspection system and more inspectors. And it was much needed since the packers were using every part of the pig except their squeal. I think after Neill and Reynolds revealed even nastier details, Roosevelt gained more support over the packers. They described the walls being covered in slime and manure, the conveyor belts were covered in blood and filth, and organs on the floor. This report gave Roosevelt the bigger stick now. Looking out for everyone, he made sure not to punish the livestock raisers so he decided not to act hastily and think through his actions. Before reading this chapter, I was completely unaware about this; although I am not sure if I really liked reading this chapter due to the disgusting details. However, I was aware that politics was influenced by symbols, but I did not know it played a major role. As we see, Roosevelt’s keen determination is what helped us clean up the major flaw in the food production. This was only one of his many contributions to this country.
USDA Government Inspected
ReplyDeleteChapter 10 of After the Fact definitely contains several pieces of shocking information, which could cause someone to significantly reconsider eating whatever meat packaged product he is in contact with at the time. However, since most of my peers are defending Roosevelt’s actions, I suppose that i shall take the role of the Devil’s advocate and attempt to side with the notoriously unsanitary meat packing industry. Chapter 10 stresses several well formed arguments put forth by the meat packers and their political allies. One such argument would be their desire to make a profit, which in itself is often associated with greed and vice; however, most everyone in the world strives to accumulate as much money as possible. It sounds coarse but is nevertheless quite true, and civilization has been unyielding in this aspect throughout history. One must not only consider the corporate giants running the meat packing industry but also the blue collared working class, who slaves over a bloody pig all day for terribly insufficient wages. Thanks to Roosevelt and his meat inspectors, the pig that some innocent worker has been hacking at all day may have to be recalled due to contamination. If the fruit of his labor being snatched away from him is not bad enough, the corporate giants are going to have to make up for the price of the relinquished pig somehow. What do you think their first idea for cutting costs will be? You guessed it, that hard working fellow with a wife and three kids to support just got his wages cut in half. Aside from wage cuts, Government interference in the meat packing industry also retarded an extremely innovative way of recycling non edible parts of animal for use in products such as glue and soap. Due to the horrific works of muckrakers, supported by Roosevelt, the meat packing industry’s mistakes overshadowed what should have been praise for the complete use of a living being as opposed to wasting a fraction of an animal that gave its life to fill the stomachs of an ungrateful society. The government’s attempt to force the meat packing industry to date their canned was an infringement on the industry’s rights as a private enterprise. Dating canned meat would just cause an ignorant consumer to constantly fear the age of perfectly normal meat products, which would in turn lead to a sharp drop in profits. Who can blame an industry leader with their company's best interest in mind if they decide not to make public certain bits of information that would have hazardous repercussions on not only himself but everyone he represents. While many may consider the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and its many champions American heros, one must still take into consideration the notable arguments and woes of the actual meat packing industry.
Reed,
ReplyDeleteWhile i acknowledge that Roosevelt was a very capable human being with a strong willed sense of morals, one must take into consideration that due to the magnitude of popularity that The Jungle attained, it would be nearly impossible for any president not to address the matter. Roosevelt was certainly capable of confronting the issue;however, even he could not completely quench the issue of a hazardous meat packing industry. I believe almost any man capable enough to become the leader of the United States would deal with the meat packers just as well as Roosevelt. Also, on the issue of the prolonged argument, the debate could not be settled as easily as one may think. The government could not just pass all the laws they deemed fit, for they also had to take into consideration the desires and rights of the private enterprise of the meat packing industry. Aside from these few contrasting opinions, I believe your essay is quite good.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with all the points you made and appreciate your new outlook on this chapter. It is extremely accurate that many and most times in history that if we want to know what truly happened we have to dig a little deeper or “look below the surface”. Also after reading this, I realized how much I take the American health standards for granted and how much I feel sympathetic for other countries around the world who are still suffering from unsanitary food that might even be exceedingly worse than the meat mentioned. Another thing we have in common is how we both dislike how the government can often sneak things into a bill without letting the American people know about it so we can try to change it if we disagree. Since we are a democracy, an outsider would never guess the type of thing happens, but sadly it frequently does. I never really thought about it but adding random tidbits into unconnected laws is really inefficient because then it requires more time and thought for the people in the other house looking to approve the law. Last, I too appreciated how Republicans and Democrats came together to fight for sanitary food despite their different beliefs about other issues.
Gil, I would also have to agree with you and Caleb. There is just way too many names and information in these chapters. I also agree that people need to know what is going into their stomach. I am pretty sure ingredient listings were not located on these cans during the early 1900s. Roosevelt definitely played a major rule cleaning up the corrupt business. In the reading, I was pretty grossed out when they said people would fall into the meat and just boil. That must mean people were actually eating up organs of humans. However this chapter was very informative and nasty.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public.
(This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.)
The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public.
(This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.)
The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public.
(This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.)
The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
In my eyes, the thesis of chapter ten (USDA government inspected) is that effective politicians use symbols and oversampling of issues to generate public support, whether with good intentions like Teddy, or bad ones. After reading this section, and reading some of my classmates responses, i have a mixture of sympathy for the American people who were deceived by their meat manufactures in addition to empathy to the meat packing industry. Concerning the latter, i found it rather interesting that though other reforms were needed (legislative and judicial) in other major food industries, the meat industry received most of the public criticism. For instance milk producers mixed CHALK and Plaster into milk, supposedly providing a richer color and taste. Don't they also deserve the scorn of the masses and disapproving eye of Teddy.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this chapter, I thought of all the processed food products I consume on weekly basis. I looked in my refrigerator, searching for something conspicuous, and found a carton of juice containing 70 percent natural ingredients (what are the other 30%?). I liked the parts in this chapter that referred to the seemingly unrelated history (like the section on Andrew Jackson and William Henry) and then connects them to the story. Also, I rarely thinks about all the intricacies that go into passing a bill, no matter how badly it is needed. One always has to look at circumstances from a political, economical, social, and international standpoint. Sadly, as seen with recent immigration, financial, and health care reforms, when the stakes are high, some people put promoting self image before servicing the public.
(This was my least favorite chapter. not because i thought it was poorly written or anything, i just really enjoyed the other chapters.)
The progressive era of the time (a day before billion dollar deficits and outrageously outbalanced war budgets) provided the perfect opportunity for Teddy Roosevelt to wield his famous "big stick." I can't help but think that with the Spanish American war still fresh in his mind (he saw many die from poisoned meat) he viewed the early 20th as a time for revenge. If so, i agree with him. Admittedly, i am still a little confused why the Jungle was such a bestseller. Was it the exaggerated detail, the radical author, or, as the book says, just the last straw in a long line of anti-meat packer writings. I also have queries on the international communities' economical pressure. Was it great enough to make TR act on his well placed convictions? Overall i am glad the reforms and subsequent ones took place.
I believe that the thesis of Chapter 11 is that only through numerous debates and political disputes is America's government able to protect its citizens from the numerous shady corporations that would sacrifice health standards for a profit.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first began reading Chapter 10, I have to admit that I was greeted with excitement upon realizing that the chapter was based on The Jungle. While I’ve never read the book, I’m excited by the idea of one man’s journey into Chicago’s mysterious meatpacking industry and the vile practices he finds taking place. The story causes me to picture some sort of urban epic in which a daring hero journalist reveals the truth of the meatpacking industry to the public, wins a legal battle to stop the madness, and ends the corruption once and for all. Because of my outlandish thinking, I assumed that the chapter would be about Sinclair and Roosevelt and how together they defeated the looming and dangerous meatpacking industry and saved 20th century America. Therefore, it was to my surprise to find that, instead, the chapter is preaching to people like me, saying that political cartoons and other historical documents have the potential to paint somewhat flawed pictures in the minds of the American people. From what I derived, the thesis of this chapter is that people are too often led to believe certain things about politicians and corporations because of the opinions of others (cartoonists, journalists, other politicians, etc). Once I realized what the chapter was really about, my initial reaction was one of agreement. Although I had never really thought about how simplified my ideas of history can be, I immediately saw how easy it is to fall into the traps set out for us by political cartoons and other historical documents. For example, before this chapter I had not put much thought into how much legal processing had to take place before the government could have done anything to change the unsanitary methods going on inside the meatpacking factories. Basically, I was failing to see the long lawmaking process that must happen in order for the government to execute its power in a corporation. It was easy for me to understand that a political leader sees an ongoing problem and then becomes involved by making the necessary changes, but hard for me to include all the time and energy it takes to reach the point in which federal involvement in legal. Since I’m already on the subject of the law making process, might I say that I was quite surprised that the House was so reluctant to allow inspection in the packaging plants when it’s obvious, at least to me, that some sort of inspection was needed to protect the very people that the representatives were elected to govern! Although this is just my opinion, it looks to me as if Wadsworth and Lorimer are the very image of those people that think only of the progress of the corporation and completely ignore the rights of the worker. But I’ve digressed. I have to say that overall I agree with what the author’s opinion on the inadequacy of symbolic explanations concernining what must happen in order for a political figure’s objective to become law. Far too often complicacy is traded for simple imagery, and it is flawing the public’s overall picture of history.
ReplyDeleteEgraf,
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I completely agree with your thesis and the opinions you derived from chapter 10. I enjoyed how, in your blog, you talked about how political cartoons create for the viewer a good side and a bad side, a black and white. It’s sad that symbolism so often simplifies situations so much that people tend to see things to be much less complicated than they truly are. I also didn’t realize until reading this chapter that the book wasn’t just a history book, but it aimed at retelling history in its true, more complex form. It’s good to have a break from the whole good guy bad guy scenario to see how things really work in our legislature. I think your response to this chapter is really great, and, once again, I agree with your thesis and your opinions.
This is what I learned after reading the chapter on how the USDA inspection system was created. The Jungle was the epicenter for the confusion, panic, and outcry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. After Upton Sinclair exposed the unsanitary production of canned-meat products, many steps of action had to take place. On a government level, varied procedures took place that brought about a fight between the packers and the people who wanted a better inspection service of their meat. Inevitably, there was a compromise made and each side had to give up a few things. Neither of the sides had a total victory, which is often in the political system. The Meat Inspection Act, in my opinion, was the first thing that showed America just how the legislative process ran its course. For the first time, Americans saw that a decision can only be made if there is public discourse that causes serious debate and negotiation. I believe the thesis of this chapter can be seen as the complexity of the governmental processes that must occur in order for there to be a change in the order of life.
ReplyDeleteI learned a great deal while reading this chapter. I never knew that so much goes into the process of creating a bill. It was interesting to learn that one book alone could call for so much chaos, but I guess these days we have Harry Potter and Twilight that seem to cause the same pandemonium in America. Along with The Jungle arousing the attention of America, cartoonist even displayed a big role in causing more destruction. Cartoonist always chose a side, which showed clearly in their drawings because the other side would always be portrayed as something evil. I believe that it is necessary for a better understanding of how the three branches of government come together to produce an outcome for a proposed bill or act. This chapter provides this information; which if every American understood this, we would elect more adequate people into office.
My opinion of the book is that the author was good at showing how a historian must come to write facts, this I like a lot. However, the author became abstracted during the story many times. At times I would find myself wondering where he is going with this thought. But overall, it was very interesting to learn about Teddy Roosevelt and governmental processes.
After reading "USDA Government Inspected" I've come to the conclusion that the overall theme of this chapter is to show the brutal truth about the meatpacking industry in which Teddy Roosevelt's determination allowed him to modify food regulations in the twentieth century, and to show how political cartoons are not sufficient to outline our world's history without gaining knowledge from several different sources. Once I read the first couple of pages, I was already in complete disgust and horror by the conditions of the meatpacking industry. It amazes me to think that the sanitary standards during the twentieth century were so low that someone could actually "swap off handfulls of dry dung of rats." But what's even more horrific, is the content about men actually falling into the vats, being cooked for days, and actually being processed into the meat. The gruesome paragraphs about this made me question the food I eat everyday. The fact that Neill and Reynolds found even worse conditions that were described in Sinclair's novel absolutely repulsed my thoughts. Just the thought of the manure on the walls, the awful scrapes of animal on the floor, and the rotting equipment should make one realize the awful health conditions of both the producers and consumers of America back in the twentieth century. Besides the fact of the horrible work conditions and unsanitary rules of the meatpackers, the food industry also made the consumers think the worst by having milk dealers use chalk and molasses in the milk products. Although I have never read The Jungle, I believe from what I've read in chapter ten that I would find the book very interesting and enjoy reading about how the corruption of the meatpacking industry was at last resolved by the mind of Roosevelt. Although we are unaware of the scandals preformed in the meatpacking industry before the publication of The Jungle, it's apparent that Roosevelt made a tremendous contribution to the help of his society by battling against congress. Teddy proved himself as a resolute individual with strong attributes by noting "The Jungle merely provided a new weapon for Roosevelt's ongoing fight." Continuing to keep his word of eliminating the unsanitary conditions, Roosevelt forbid packers from using chemical preservatives and any unhealthy dies or additives by creating and signing the Meat Inspection Act. As for the symbols of politics, it's understood that politicians do not portray reality to the public, but simply modify the complications for entertainment and means of communication to other political leaders. Symbolism is a way of leaving one side of every story out, and a way of forcing people to believe in an individual thought. Thanks to America's food regulations today, which are the ultimate results of Teddy Roosevelt's heroic fight, consumers can assure themselves of what exactly is contained in their food and understand the laws for public health.
ReplyDeleteTrey Flynn
ReplyDeleteChapter 10 Thesis: In order to make political issues attractive in the world of public opinion, complex political ordeals are simplified and represented by recognizable symbols, as illustrated in the debate between meat packers and agents of reform in the early 20th century. After reading chapter 10, I feel the primary intent of the author is not to give readers a history lesson in the development of the meat packing industry, but to explain how politicians and special interest groups go about presenting their debate to the public in a manner that disguises their true arguments in a way that is appealing and interpretable. By simplifying each side’s argument to terms that are most favorable to the public, the debate is simplified by two distinct and opposing sides, when in reality the complexity of the real issue is clouded to hide the true intentions of those involved. The same basic principle is what has shaped our entire legislative system into that of two opposing parties. I feel political parties exist only to deceive voters of whom and what they are really supporting. In essence, a political party is just a symbol generally associated with certain beliefs, which politicians hide behind to gain the support of voters who recognize the symbol as their own. The meat packing industry used fear of governmental involvement in the private sector to symbolize their campaign against reform. Reformers insisted that the health of consumers and workers was their main concern in reform. The author, however, insinuates that neither of the mission statements above were the top priorities of either group. The meat packers recognized that government interference would lead to more expensive methods of production, treatment of workers, and payment of officials. While the trust-busting Roosevelt pictured an entire industry of American production could be restricted and therefore made more valuable to the federal government. In either case, I feel the underlying theme of the chapter is to understand that no political ordeal is as shallow and simple as it is made out to be. This chapter has strengthened my outright mistrust in everything politicians and special interests groups say and do, and I feel that such skepticism is justified by the very nature of our political system. In order to uncover the true nature of any political debate, I feel that all Americans should be more aware of political happenings and should be offered better insight into the functions of all braches of government.
I think that this chapter's thesis is on the importance of public opinion, it is illustrated by the desperate attempts to cover up the mistakes that the meat packing industry had made.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUSDA Government Inspected
ReplyDeleteThe thesis to this chapter is that there is always more to a story than people usually hear. Symbolism, such as political cartoons, can help the public more easily understand complicated situations, but they can also lead the public to believe things that are not true. When the public read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, they were informed of how little their health meant to the meatpackers. They conditions they worked under were horrible, endangering not only the health of all the people who ate the meat but also the health of all of the packers. There was really no concern for sanitation; when rats crawled around the meat and died, they along with their dung and the poisoned bread used to kill them. Then the packers sent out the meat for everyone in the country and even overseas. When I read this, I had no idea that anyone would let this happen at any time. I definitely realized how lucky we are to have a government that cares about public health.
But what the public back then did not know was that President Teddy Roosevelt was just as outraged as they were. When he read Sinclair’s The Jungle, he did everything he could to punish the meatpackers and make sure this would never happen again. But he realized that he was not able to do very much because the inspectors of the meat cared about as much as the packers. No matter how hard Roosevelt fought, it seemed like the packers won. Making things worse, the public did not believe that he was doing anything to bring a stop to these conditions because of political cartoons. These cartoons made Roosevelt out to be completely uncaring. They made it seem like he was oblivious to the injustice happening and that he wasn’t going to do anything about it. But TR was not a man who could be easily moved. He continued to fight to fix this problem until things were changed.
The stories of what went on during this time make me think about how angry this would have made me. They also make me wonder if things have changed that much today. Are we unknowingly still eating meat like this today? If we were, would we be able to change anything about that? Just as they were in the early 1900s, animals in most food industries are still being treated cruelly before they are slaughtered. They are kept in terrible conditions, and it would not be surprising of most of them carried diseases. If these conditions have still not been changed, how do we know that the quality of meat has? I can only hope that our government today and the people who prepare our food for us care a little more about our health than people did before. I hope that people today are not so obsessed with profit that they would risk the health of someone else just to make a little more.
Camille,
ReplyDeleteI think its funny how you pictured Sinclair's book. I didn't think of it like that but now that i do it makes sense. It was sort of like him going on an epic journey to disgusting place and then ultimately defeating the "villain" that was the meat packing industry. I also agree that the comics present a sort of foolish picture of how a situation happens.
Harley,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said, and you brought some things to my attention that I did not notice before. First off, I certainly agree that history cannot be understood simply by cartoons. Actual documents are necessary. This goes on to what you said later about symbolism. I never really thought about it before except as a representation of fact. You made me realize it is a very biased representation that leaves out one side and makes you believe in the other. I had never thought of it that way, but I agree with you. I also agree that reading about the conditions was totally disgusting. Thinking of a man being processed after falling in a vat and then other men unintentionally eatting him makes my stomach turn. It's canibalism, which I find revolting. I agree that we should thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his determination. I'm glad our modern canned goods are not as questionable and have labels that identify their contents.
James La Russa said,
ReplyDeleteHarley,
I was equally repulsed while reading about the indescribable meat industry. I cannot imagine eating what comes out of those manufacturing agencies. This country obviously needed some type of reform when Roosevelt's men, who he sent in to inspect the manufacturing centers, came back with even worse reports of cleanliness than what was described in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
Chapter 10 of After the Fact contains several repulsive bits of information that will make you think twice about what that can of Spam or vienna sausages might really contain. Is it cow brains, eyes, hoof or some type of animal byproduct?
ReplyDeleteI was utterly appalled and disgusted at the facts the chapter laid out for us readers. It was truly amazing that the meat packing industry, as corrupt as it was, could let such disgusting varieties of flesh, feces, and bones be put it to their meat product without second thought. The fact that humans would be boiled and rat feces would be used as filler for canned meats is truly remarkable. Amercan's today take the regulations and inspection agencies today for granted. In the early 1900s, one organization or governmental regulation was even thought about. Roosevelt set out to reform the meat industry once he read Upton Sinclair's tell all book on the industry, The Jungle. With Roosevelt's new found disgust for the meat packing industry, he began to pull a meat inspection act together. In 1906, Roosevelt passed his bill to reform the meat industry. The act brought tougher inspection of post and pre slaughtered meats and hired more inspection agents to be on site of the meat packing plants. Together Roosevelt hoped that these would change the meat industry upside down. Roosevelt had Neil and Reynolds conducted a independent inspection and found that conditions in the factories were actually much worse than The Jungle had told. Slime and manure covered the walls, potted ham was found to contain large portions of rope and pigskin, and all equipment rotted under a layer of filth and blood. Now that Roosevelt had the upper hand on the meat industry, he planned to get what he wanted from them or he would release the shocking information that Neil and Reynolds. Being a good president, he tried to look out for everyone and keep others out of harm from this reform especially the cattle ranchers.
Looking back on this chapter, I realize how much of this information I did not know. I at first believed I knew a fair amount about the meat industry reform, but I was amazed at some of the horrifying fact the chapter showed. All together i thought the chapter was very informative and interesting. I had previously unaware of Roosevelt reform of the meat industry. But now I understand, he was leading force in the fight against the meat industrys corruption. The disgusting fact just caught my attention and interest.
Jay,
ReplyDeleteI was equall disgusted as you were as it appears to me from your blog. We seem to have both thought that the meat industry was doing a horrid job when it can to the sanitation of the factory. I disgusts me to imagine the horrible and strange things that they put in their meat products I can't believe the "crap" as you said they were making.
When I saw the name of this chapter, I thought this was going to be a review of things I already knew, but it was a learning experience for me. I now realize how disgusting the meat packing companies were back in the twenties. Thankfully, Teddy Roosevelt took incentive to make things better. This was not an easy task for him, but one reason I enjoy learning about TR is that he never gives up. He had a task in front of him if he wanted to reform how all the meat companies was packing food.
ReplyDeleteOne meat company was named The Jungle. This name fits the packing plant because there were many types of animals in the meat, just like there are many animals in a real jungle. This then became the name of a book relating to the corrupt meat factories. It is funny to me that the author of this book wanted the readers to see "the conditions under which toilers get their bread", but he did not press the fact of the unsanitary meat. I do no know how he expected anyone to think about others when he is telling them that there is rat pooh and rats in their so-called beef or pork.
The book, "The Jungle", is actually how President Roosevelt learned about the meat packing companies. I was unaware he found out about this in this way. It is neat to know he found out at the same time the general public did. It is also amazing to me that these meat problems had been taking place since 1870.
Teddy Roosevelt saw the effects of the poisonous meat first hand when he saw Rough Riders die from it. I believe this was one of the main reasons he took such bold action to make the meat pure. He had all he needed to make this happen with the book by Sinclair. Everyone knew Roosevelt would eventually get to the bottom of it and it would end with what was right. I believe this is one of the many things that made him a great leader.
Most of the packers wanted the government to come in after the book was released. This is because they thought it was the only way that they could regain business. If I was the owner of one of the companies I would be mad at the plants that were doing wrong because that would cause people not to buy from me.
Caleb,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on the fact that Roosevelt is the overall "hero" of this story. had it not been for him the mean companies may have gotton away with this for quite some time. I too found this chapter intresting because it was talking about food which is something that is essential to life. In the end, something would have been done but maybe not as quickly as Roosevlet did it. This is one of the things you said was one of his best traits was that he "bull rushed" the situation.
Caleb,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on the fact that Roosevelt is the overall "hero" of this story. Had it not been for him the mean companies may have gotten away with this for quite some time. I too found this chapter interesting because it was talking about food which is something that is essential to life. In the end, something would have been done but maybe not as quickly as Roosevelt did it. This is one of the things you said was one of his best traits was that he "bull rushed" the situation.
The thesis of “USDA Goverment Inspected” is that Teddy Roosevelt was a very determined individual that fought for what was right for the American citizens. Teddy Roosevelt discovered the Meat Inspection Act by reading the novel called The Jungle that was written by Upton Sinclair in the ealry 1900's. When I was reading USDA Goverment Inspected I was disgusted by the lack of upkeep of the warehouses of the meat packaging facilities across the United States. In addition, I was appalled at the use of adulterants and other harsh chemicals used to preserve the meat. When people read The Jungle, it was made very clear that the people didn’t care about the upkeep of the house or their own health. After reading this, I couldn’t believe that anyone would ever let something like this happen. We are fortunate to have a government to look after us and protect us when something like this occurs. Teddy Roosevelt always worked at something until it was accomplished, and the Meat Inspection Act was no different. I could never imagine myself eating any of the things that were mentioned in chapter ten. I think if anyone ever ate that then it would result in a serious illness. But we have to realize that the food regulations are different now than how it was back in the twentieth century. Also another thing that comes to mind after reading this chapter is that you think about all the other countries that struggle with the lack of cleanliness of food and water. Needless to say, we are very fortunate for what Teddy Roosevelt has done for our country with the Meat Inspection Act.
ReplyDeleteDear Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you.
I was also appalled after learning how even the workers at the meat place just let the poisinous contaminants go into the meat without any objection.
Like you, my diet would have to be entirely altered if the conditions were the same today. There is nothing more disgusting than eating rat feces with your meat.
I agree with you completely that Teddy deserves all the praise for improving our meat- packing conditions.
The thesis of this chapter, I believe, is not just about how awful and corrupt the meat packing industry was, but how American production as a whole was fiercely unregulated. Due to this lack of regulation companies cut corners on their products and workers for the sake of profit. The government in turn had to act which sparked the Progessive Era, which was spearheaded by leaders such as Teddy Roosevelt. This in turn is the start of a long war between American business and the American government. The meat-packing industry is just one battle.
ReplyDeletePersonally I wasn't suprized about how bad the meat-packing industry was. I mean it was awful in almost any business back then. Some companies do similiar things now. I know its not on the same level, but what do you think they put in hot dogs. Its a fact of life that businesses cut corners to make profit. Its no surprise to me that they did this. The American people however were surprized, and I don't blame them. This uproar became strong with the release of The Jungle. I find it quite entertaining though that the people side stepped the author's true purpose of writing the book for socialism, and instead just went for the meat packing industry. This uproar led to something I was surprized about, that the political way of doing things is nearly identical to what happens now. The conservatives say its a government take over of sorts and the liberals say the government needs to step in to stop the atrocieties of the meat packers. Both sides are simply using these as political ploys to gain the people on their side. Each side also tries to bash the other which disgusts me except in this period of time it is through political cartoons instead of today where they do it through those political commercials spelling all their opponents faults. I however was very pleased to see that the legislative process work to its fullest. Both sides gave there ideas. Both fought for them. Yes they battled to death about what should be in the bill, but when it was stalemated even the fight to the end T.R. submitted to the all important aspect of compromise. The reality is they got something done that gave America a step forward in a new age of reform.
Nicky,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I find your position against regulation of the meatpacking industry to be boldly unorthodox, I find one of your key arguments to be irrational. The following is a passage I have selected from your response that seems illogical: “Thanks to Roosevelt and his meat inspectors, the pig that some innocent worker has been hacking at all day may have to be recalled due to contamination. If the fruit of his labor being snatched away from him is not bad enough, the corporate giants are going to have to make up for the price of the relinquished pig somehow. What do you think their first idea for cutting costs will be? You guessed it, that hard working fellow with a wife and three kids to support just got his wages cut in half.” As much as I love your reference of a bloody pig carcass as a “fruit of labor,” I wholeheartedly disagree that Roosevelt’s reform would lead to the loss of wages for a pig slaughterer. Instead I feel the reforms would lead to better working conditions, and better representation for the workers and therefore a demand for better pay. Other than this fundamental argument, I greatly respect your choice to defend the meat packers.
Chapter 10 “USDA Government Inspected” is an examination of the meat packing industry and the solutions that were in mind to clean up the meat that caused many illnesses. While reading this selection, it surprised me what was going into the vats besides just meat. Even if a worker saw a dead rat in the piles of meat, they did not even bother to lift it out. To me, this seems very selfish because it appears that the packers do not care if a citizen is consuming this type of product. When thinking back to the time in the early twentieth century when it was unclear what exactly was in the meat products you were consuming, it is evident that Theodore Roosevelt was the man to clear up the problem and gain back the confidence of the consumers. Sadly, the American public had no idea that was they were consuming was more than just meat. The authors state that potted chicken contained no chicken at all and that rats were just one additive in the meats sent to dinner tables around the country. Theodore Roosevelt was a man of his word and did not finish until the job was done. The meat packing industry of this time was fully exposed in Upton Sinclair’s book entitled The Jungle. Upton Sinclair was a socialist reformer. Many Americans during this point in time regarded socialists as extremists and dangerous people; however, most readers missed the socialist message and focused on the disclosure about unsanitary slaughterhouses and a lack of federal inspection. Although this was not the first time the American public had heard of the sanitary problems in the packing industry, it was the breaking point needed to evoke a plan. The Jungle was a very popular book that sold 25,000 copies in just one week. Theodore Roosevelt, a very avid reader, was outraged and recognized that the American public expected the government to step in and clean up the meat packer’s act. The problem of the meat packing industry was a storm that challenged Roosevelt’s leadership skills but which he passed with flying colors. He quickly brought up a new bill, the Meat Inspection Act, which “banned the packers from using any unhealthy dyes, chemical preservatives, or adulterants.” This Meat Inspection Act gained back the confidence of American consumers where they were no longer questioning whether their everyday meals would make them or members of their family sick.
ReplyDeleteMy intial reaction to this chapter was that it was very shocking. It all started when Upton Sinclair, a reformer, wrote The Jungle. Once people read the evoking stories told in Sinclair's book, President Roosevelt's reputation was on the verge of being ruined. After some time, the President "overwhelmed the opposition and saved the consumer" (239). In The Jungle, Sinclair told consumers about the process of packaging pork and beef. I could not believe how gross the meat was in the packing houses, and I can't imagine unknowingly consuming that disgusting, unsanitary meat. People during that time should not have had to worry about consuming poisonous meats. One of the most astounding pieces of information in this chapter was the fact that "a few unscrupulous packers supplied the army fighting in Cuba with rotten and chemically adultered meats" (241). I could not believe that the packers would feed the people fighting for our country rotten meat. The packers did not even have the descency to give them good meat. It is ridiculous that the people in the army not only had to worry about getting shot by the Spanish, but also about dying form consuming rotten meat. Luckily, Roosevelt was very passionate about this issue, and he was determined to protect the consumers.
ReplyDeleteJames Wadsworth, a Republican from New York, and Lorimer, the Republican representative from Chicago's packinghouse district, sided with the meat packers. They wrote a substitution bill to replace the original bill written by Senator ALbert Beveridge of Indiana. In my opinion, Wadsworth and Lorimer's bill was a complete sham. Their substitute bill eliminated each part of the original bill that the packers disagreed with, which basically meant taking out all of the helpful qualities. They did not have any positive aspects to base their draft on. They basically had to make all of the bad and possibly life-threatening features seem appealing and favorable. I really do not understand how something so ruinous could be approved. Unfortunately, the substitution bill passed through the Agriculture Committee. It is scary that something so horrible and potentially harmful would even be concidered as an option that could actually help the citizens. It should have been an automatic rejection.
Thankfully, Roosevelt did not give up just yet. Eventually, a compromise was made, and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was passed. The fact that Wadsworth and Lorimer's substitution bill was even tossed up for further concideration makes me wonder if that kind of thing still happens in the government today.
I completely disagree with how certain parts of our government work. Joseph Cannon, the dictorial Republican speaker and supporter of the meat packers, was in charge of assigning people to specific commities. Members of Congress prefer to be on committees that deal with problems that pertain to their own life. If the representatives voted in Cannon's favor, they were more likely to be on the committee of their choice. Most of the time, "Many represenatives found themselves forced to vote against their consciences" (256). In my opinion, this is unfair and unjust. This portion of the chapter made me realize that politics is a game. The representatives played to win even if it meant voting for something they did not agree with. If I could change one thing about the government, it would probably be that all the politicians would not worry so much about maintaining their authority. Instead, they would focus on the issues and vote according to what they think would be best for the people in this country.
This chapter made me realize how all parts of the government have a say in the final outcome. If they all can't agree on a certain topic, they work to reach a compromise. It also made me very thankful that their are people like Roosevelt in the government that are willing to fight for something even if it takes a lot of time and effort. Chapter 10 was informative, but most of all, it was very appalling.
Harrison,
ReplyDeleteI also found that the food made and sold by the meatpackers was absloutely disgusting. Just the thought of having all those different things in it is revolting. I also see how T.R. was a good president by not acting to rash and harming people that had nothing to do with the meatpackers. I also did not know much about this until reading this chapter. It was a lot of information that I had never even heard of.
I accidentally forgot to write a thesis statement for my response to this chapter so here it is:
ReplyDeleteThe thesis of this chapter is that the decisions made by all three branches of government can drastically affect the entire nation.
Candace,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything you had to say. I found it disgusting that the packers were allowed to operate in such an unsanitary condition. I was also very appalled that the packers knowingly sent rotten meat to feed the troops. I also agree that the Wadsworth and Lorimer's bill was a sham for allowing the packers to continue to operate under these conditions. Luckily, today packers are more closely regulated to insure that the consumer is getting a wholesome product. I also like the point you made about having government officials who stand up for what they believe in regardless of the time and effort it takes.
tracy,
ReplyDeleteI also thought this chapter was frightening. It is scary to think people were unknowingly consuming rotten meat. I also agree with you "that the voice of the people should be the key to how the government takes action." I believe citizens vote on people to represent them; therefore, they should listen to the majority of the people. Like you, I think that compromise is a very important part of the way our government works. Without it, one political party would always end up unsatisfied.
Delving into the chapter exploring the meat packing scandal of the early nineteen hundreds, the reader is immersed in a horror story of loud machines, dark, dank dudgeons, vats of boiling humans, and packages of decaying rats. Wrapped up in the horrific conditions of meat packing plants and the appalling and unexpected additives one could find in meat less than a hundred years ago, one might quickly lose the message the chapter entitled USDA Government Inspected intends to convey. While the scandalous conditions of plants and warehouses and the shocking actions of government officials and meat-packing companies present a story worth repeating, the meat packing scandal and the establishment of a government inspection agency is used to illustrate the complicated process of legislation and regulation that often goes unrecorded in history. This specific example helps clarify Chapter Ten’s thesis that one must look beyond political symbolism and oversimplification to fully understand any story of historical importance.
ReplyDeleteReading the chapter it was astonishing to find just how oversimplified typical historical accounts of Teddy Roosevelt, Upton Sinclair, and the fight for the Meat Inspection Act are. Learning of the meat packing scandal and its resolution in my sophomore US History class, I thought I knew all the important facts surrounding the passing of the Meat Inspection Act. However, as I quickly read through the introduction and reached the “meat” of the chapter, I discovered that there was much more to the story than a president quickly passing legislation to resolve the issue at hand. The blackmail and corruption we see often hear about happening in foreign countries enveloped our own nation: companies disregarded the health of the American public and politicians acted for votes alone. Meat-packers, wanting to turn the greatest profits, “recycled” by attempting to “use ‘everything but the squeal’” and did so without concern for consumer health. When the government even offered them free advertisement and endorsement by giving their seal of approval to inspected meats and packing facilities, the packing companies tried their hardest to prevent inspections so they could pass on meat even unfit for consumption to unsuspecting consumers. Furthermore, some government officials only acted for and against the meat-packing inspection out of self preservation. Using investigative reports as blackmail, Teddy Roosevelt pushed hard for the Meat Inspection Act to repair the scandalized reputation “Sinclair’s revelations” had left him with, while other politicians such as “the Republican representative from Chicago’s packinghouse district” tried to stifle the legislation to maintain the support of key voters in their districts.
While some of the motives of the meat-packers and politicians were questionable, neither party was as bad as the other made them seem. Though meat-packers sometimes lowered sanitation standards, attempting to use all parts of animal, the practice worked to lower the cost of meat for the general public while they increased their revenues. Additionally, not all of the politicians pushed for or against inspection legislation for votes. Former cattle breeders understood the challenges faced in the meat industry and were sympathetic to packers, while Progressive Reformers had a moral conviction to protect the health of the general public. With reports of both corruption and conviction, this chapter left me more informed about not only the meat-packing scandal but also the oversimplification of politics. Before drawing conclusions about historical events and politicians, I now know I must consider every action and point of view so that I am not easily deceived by politicians’ public façades.
When I first read Chapter Ten – USDA Government Inspected, I was shocked at the methods that meat factories used in preparing their products. To think that something so essential as the food we eat was not taken seriously during a time when everything seemed to be booming in the United States makes me wonder what else could have been poorly managed. I was especially shocked seeing as now, in the year 2010, we have so many food regulations that any thoughts of poor production or quality of what we are about to eat often times slip our minds completely. However, it was pleasing to know that the President of the United States at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, actually took action in an attempt to fix these major problems (also something unheard of today, the President actually trying to make things better!). Roosevelt became aware of the poor conditions of the meat industry through the book “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. The book explained in detail exactly how bad the conditions in these meat factories actually were. One of the major problems was the packaging of the meats. To think that rat poisons, rat droppings, and other unsanitary items were not only noticed, but were still packed in with the meats makes me cringe. In an attempt to confirm the poor conditions stated in Sinclair’s book, Theodore Roosevelt proposed the Neill-Reynolds report, which, indeed did confirm Sinclair’s findings. In 1906 Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act in an attempt to clean up the meat factories. The act called for the inspection of meat before and after the slaughter. The act did help to clean up the industry, but even today there are still questions as to what is being done behind closed doors with the production of our food. Without the actions of President Theodore Roosevelt the meat packing industry might still be in shambles, but with the founding of the FDA and the USDA we can at least be a little bit more assured that what it says on the package, is really what it is.
ReplyDeleteccosby,
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the chapter was very similar to yours. I could not believe that just over a year ago meat in horrifically unsanitary conditions sat in packing houses ready to be shipped to an unsuspecting public. However, I do not believe we can give Teddy Roosevelt's compassion one hundred percent of the credit for his actions. I am sure Teddy Roosevelt was just as appalled as I am that meat-packers would knowingly send diseased meat to American armed forces, but I think T. Roosevelt acted out of more than just disgust for the meat-packers’ actions. He, as you mentioned, had a reputation to maintain. The vile conditions Sinclair reported damaged T. Roosevelt's image as a concerned president on top of all issues concerning the well-being of the American public, so he had to use the “big stick” he was famous for and take quick action against the meat-packing industry.
Chapter 10 USDA Government Inspected discusses the scandalous story of meatpacking industries and how the government dealt with the situation. My initial reaction to this chapter was complete and utter bewilderment. i had no idea that there used to be that many problems with the meat that is consumed by the human race. to think that people used to eat meat that was not even labeled for an expiration date is astounding and utterly disgusting. It amazes me that our government let this go on for such a long period of time. In the book it says "the thunderclap that shattered the calm was the publication of The Jungle." This evoking book was written by Upton Sinclair. He was a socialist who wrote about Chicago's meat packing industry. The grisly details revealed where their meat was coming from and what it was actually made up of. I cannot imagine reading The Jungle and then having to think about the adulterated meat i had eaten recently. In the book it says that if a worker saw a rat in the cart he would not even bother to take it out. Considering the workers probably eat some of the meat they make you would think they would want it to be sanitary and healthy. I honestly do not understand how someone could just do that and not even have a second thought about it. In this chapter not only am I astounded by the uncleanliness but also by the amount of time the government took to pass a bill. Although there might be more to it i thought that more could have been done to help fix this corrupt situation. The Neil-Reynolds report gave Roosevelt the big stick he always liked to carry in a fight, but I felt like he did not use it like it could have been used. I did not understand why the government could not pass the bill that they had originally written. I thought ther should have been more concern for a situation that could sometimes be considered life or death. An example of this situation involves our own army. Th brave soldiers fighting in Cuba were being served rotten and chemically adulterated meats. The soldiers were not only dieing from Spanish bullets but also from poisonous meats. I think it is unacceptable they would even allow soldiers to die this way when they are bravely fighting for our country.
ReplyDeleteIn 1906 the Meat Inspection Act became the law of the land. Roosevelt and Beveridge both considered the final measure a triumph for reform. This chapter really showed me how detailed and involved this case was. It also showed me how all three branches have to be a part of the outcome. Overall, this chapter was very informative and shocking to me.
brooks,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your views of the meatpacking industry and your initial reaction to the contents of the meat that was consumed back before there were expiration dates and ingredient labels. How disgusting! I also completely understand the reasoning behind your point about the government taking such a long time to pass a bill. Obviously there was a problem with the food regulations of there were rats crawling around the meat and no one there to stop them.
Collin,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your view on this Chapter. It is amazing to me how bad the conditions of the factories actually were. What you said really made me think about how no one ever thinks to worry about getting soiled meat. i also agree with your statement that without Roosevelt the times of bad meat might have gone on for much longer. I cannot imagine having to find out that that is where my meat was coming from. I also would hate to find out what was or was not being done to the meat that I consume.
To Chris Michas
ReplyDeleteI really hoped there was truly nothing abnormal about your sandwich, Chris. Can you even imagine what it would be like if the people working in the meat packing factory today desecrates your meat and the government is too lazy to stop it? Indeed, I would like strict regulations at other food preparation facilities as well such as crops. Not too long ago in the 1990’s, a European biotech company released a soil bacterium that attacked dead plant parts and left beer (not kidding) as waste, and the scientists saw that this bacteria can quickly decompose leftover plants to a usable substance very similar to the usage of all the pig except for the squeal. Before being shipped all over the world to be used on nearly every farm, an American scientist discovered that the waste that the bacterium produced was toxic to new plants making the soil unusable, so when the farmers use the bacterium, their land will bear no more crops. Luckily, news about the perils of using the bacterium reached the company which cancelled the shipment of their product. If that ship of bacterium were to reach our farms, then the entire country will starve. Another place in great need of safety regulations is a fast-food restaurant. I do not know about you, but have you heard of the rumors of the ice being dirtier than toilet water or body parts being mixed into the meat or when meat supply is low, an innocent raccoon is captured from the dumpster to make some McNuggets?
Emily Espy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said that it is not fair for the meat packers to be the bad guy. However, they were considerably bad people. I do not think it was right of them to pack the meat the way they did. I believe no human being should do something that could cause the health of millions of others without feeling guilty. Possibly they could have felt guilty but needed a job to pay the bills. Any person that has moral values you would think would stand up I believe it was a selfish act for them to commit. I believe all the things the meat packers must go through to pass inspection is good and could be harsher. I believe this because this meat could be sent all around the world or the nation and cause sickness and death of innocent people. I agree however the politicians made themselves seem like heroes, probably for their campaign. Again this is a selfish act of human nature. You tend to see a thread of selfishness, but this a mistake made by many human beings. But like you I was surprised about the meat inspection and how long and complicated process it was to finally pass this bill.
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