“Fast Food Nation” And “The Jungle”: The Changes In Fast Food Industry
From the early 1900s, significant developments occurred in the meatpacking business. The Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture have put in place laws to improve working conditions and protect animals’ welfare and raise the quality of meat being sold. Since the early 1900s, the working conditions of meatpackers have been a major problem. But there has been some improvement. The early 1900’s saw workers working in harsh conditions, low wages and long hours. There was also the risk of death and injury. The rooms were dark and unventilated and the temperatures were extreme in summer and winter.
Eric Schlosser takes the Fast Food Nation tour through a slaughterhouse. Schlosser says that to keep employees safe from sharp knives cutting them, they are required to wear a lot of “chainmail.” Chainmail is a type if steel armor that allows workers mobility and protection from injury. Chainmail is not always effective in preventing workers from being injured. Employees are often required to wear rubber boots that reach the knees because of the bloody floor. The assembly line at a slaughterhouse is fast and the employees stand close to each other. Although work conditions are generally better than they were back in the 1900’s and are now more comfortable, employees must still be able to work quickly. This can cause injuries and accidents. Although technology has made it easier to work in the meatpacking industry, the job of a slaughterhouse worker is still extremely dangerous. In the early 1900s, unskilled workers included immigrants. They were often paid pennies an hour and made a living as meatpackers (Meat Packing Industry (2008)). Skilled workers made less than fifty cents an hours and worked long ten-hour work days, six days a semaine. The Fair Labor Standards Act was established in 1938 to set a minimum wage and address the issues of child labor and overtime. The meatpacking industry saw many women being sexually exploited. Their bosses would rape them or force them into prostitution in order to provide a living. According to The Jungle Ona was repeatedly raped and forced to prostitution by her boss after she was blackmailed. Although they did similar jobs, men were generally paid more than their female counterparts. Today, many illegal immigrants run the meatpacking business, earning very low wages. Slums remain a problem today because of the low wages paid to workers. Most of the people employed in fast food are teenagers, elderly, or immigrants. They often get low wages and work long hours because they don’t need much skill to work in fast-food restaurants. The minimum wage is on the rise for many decades. Many states have fought for a $15 minimum wage since 2015. Due to the negative effects of higher minimum wages, not all states have made the transition to higher ones. In the early 1900’s, injury and death were common and could often be avoided. Although the assembly line system made the process quick and convenient, a man could easily accidentally cut his finger while cutting carcasses so quickly. Sinclair described how a steer fell from its chains and Jurgis tried to escape, but his ankle was twisted by the tool that collects blood cattle.
As in the past, slaughterhouses use an assembly-line system. Although it is less dangerous than it was in 1900, it is still quite dangerous. The technology is constantly improving, so skilled workers are no longer required for assembly lines. Although many technological advancements have made it easier to improve worker conditions in the last century, the meatpacking trade is still dangerous. The USDA passed laws in 1994 to ensure that no animal was killed in inhumane ways. Animal welfare has started to improve in the meatpacking industry. Animals were not stunned when they were slaughtered and were often alive at the time of their execution. Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, states that animals died before their throats were completely cut.
1978’s Humane Slaughter Act ensured that the humane slaughterer could kill the animal quickly and painlessly. Schlosser states that slaughterhouses use the correct procedures to kill or insensitize steers. All steers can be killed after they have been stunned and are then tied to the ceiling. A steer may have fallen from the ceiling to the conveyor belt and ended up in the end, even though it was still conscious and breathing. The path from the farm to the slaughterhouse keeps the cattle safe and prevents them seeing other animals being killed. This helps cattle feel less stressed and anxious than they need to. The meatpacking industry makes use of many technological advancements to ensure that cattle are killed as humanely and humanely possible. Captive bolt pistols allow cattle to be stunned and killed in a matter of minutes, with the majority dying within ninety six seconds. The process of slaughtering cattle is much easier than in the 1900’s. In the early 1900’s, meat quality was poor. The Jungle says that the best way to disguise spoiled meat from the public was to make it safe for them to smoke, can, or grind it. The sausage was also stored close to rodent urine. Any meat that fell on the floor would be dusted and placed back on the production line. Many carcasses went uninspected despite the presence of a government inspector. The severity of the meatpacking business was made public shortly after The Jungle was published. The Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906 was also passed by Congress in the same year. This act prohibited the sale and manufacture of any unapproved products. The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 2006 was also approved by Congress. It ensured that meats were properly slaughtered and processed with the presence of government inspectors.
Food poisoning is common in fast-food restaurants today. Sometimes, meat can be contaminated by E. coli when manure accidentally mixes with ground beef. Although some illnesses have been reported and are being investigated, the United States Government has not requested that meat be recalled from its customers. Schlosser said that employees can make many mistakes in a slaughterhouse. Many employees can forget basic sanitation rules, such a not cleaning knives after multiple uses, or picking up food that has fallen to the floor and not disinfecting it. This makes it appear that not much has changed about the way meat is handled in the past century. The quality of meat that is sold today is far better than what it was in 1900, but inspection of meat remains a problem. In 2016, the number of food recalls occurred at an all-time high. This is actually a good thing as government inspectors can catch problems before they become a serious problem. It is important to make changes in order to have fewer recalls. The quality of meat has increased significantly in recent years, but there is still much to be done.
In conclusion, improvements have been made since the beginning of the 1900’s to benefit workers, to protect animals welfare and to increase the quality meat that is sold to customers. FDA and USDA created laws that have helped employees, animals,and consumers. Although the situation has improved dramatically since Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, Eric Schlosser reveals in Fast Food Nation that there are still significant improvements.
