I'm currently re-reading Upton Sinclair's classic, The Jungle (1906), which follows the plight of the working class (new immigrants) who work in the Chicago stockyards. In addition to the horrible working conditions and questionable ethical issues of food production, what strikes me is how relevant many of the issues still are today. As well as the family purchasing a house without understanding the ramifications of interest payments (housing crisis), is the question of short-term vs. long-term efficiency of labor and land. There is also the topic of food adulteration, hubris (food moralists fear a future apocalypse due to the "unnatural" way that food is produced), and an alientation that we have from our food source as well as from community in general. SO... have you read the Jungle? What are your thoughts of the book and the issues that it raises?
I touched on this other day when we were talking, while i have only read excerpts from The Jungle, It seems to me that the movie Food Inc. had motives similar to The Jungle. yes, the jungle did have a much bigger impact in changing food handling laws and cleaning up the system, but both works expose the food production industry. I just find it so fascinating and disappointing that the way our food is manufactured and grown is so hidden from us, the consumer. People need to start investigating the food they eat, where did it come from? who grew it? and what's in it?
ReplyDeleteI have not read Upton Sinclair's book, but I have read Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, which touches on a great deal of the issues I have heard about in Sinclair's book. I agree with Ilana that there is something wrong that we seem to have outsourced and lost the knowledge of the one aspect of nature that we impart into our body three times a day. Sinclair's book resulted in a number of new safety laws for both the worker and the consumer being enacted. Unfortunately, all Schlosser's book did was help with the removal of the Supersize option at many fast food venues. Why is this? Have people lost the ability to produce these kinds of changes in our democratic system? Food just leads to bigger questions.
ReplyDeleteI read The Jungle a year or two ago, after learning about the impact it made on our government's food laws. I thought it was interesting that Upton Sinclair's intention was not to exactly change our food industry, but to promote socialism. If I remember correctly, he said "instead of hitting their hearts, I hit their stomachs."
ReplyDeleteWhat upsets me most is that the Beef Trust is back in action. The government and beef industry work hand in hand to mask the truth from the public in order to make a profit. There are laws prohibiting people to speak about the beef industry in a way that might disrupt sales. When Mad Cow Disease surfaced in the mid-90s, Oprah was sued by the beef industry after saying "I don't know if I'll ever eat another burger" on her television show.
We are forced to keep our mouths shut or face law suits that could lead to bankruptcy. How is it that we allow something people have created (economy) have so much control over our lives? When did money become more important than health, ethics, and education?