Critical Analysis #5

Critical Analysis #5 The main idea of this article is to inform us of what the meat packing industry is about and how it works. It talks about how they smell, how they work, and how they profit. One of the meat packing industries it talked about was the old Chicago slaughter houses and how they were usually brick buildings, four or five stories high. Cattle were herded up wooden ramps, to the top floor, where they were struck on the head with a sledgehammer, slaughtered, and then disassembled by skilled workers. The working conditions in the meat packing plants were brutal. A book was written “The Jungle” in which Upton Sinclair described a litany of horrors: severe back and shoulder injuries, lacerations, and exposures to dangerous chemicals. There was even an accident in which a worker fell into a vat and got turned into lard. The plant went on about their business and the lard was sold to unsuspecting consumers. Can anyone say Grouse!! Any who, President Roosevelt at the time ordered an investigation in which federal agents found accuracy in the book and the Chicago meatpacking plant was found laboring workers “under conditions that were entirely unnecessary and unpardonable, and which are a constant menace not only to their own health, but also to the health of those who use the food products prepared by them.” My question or concern would be how greedy can our governments get because in a sense it is like our government also allows it, they don’t seem to be doing anything about it. It seems like they talk about it and then just try to sweep it under the floor. When instead they should be taking action and requiring more form companies or large corporations. Also, like we discuss in class we just need to stand up and rally or bring it up to their awareness as a community. This applies to us in the real world and our lives because if we just let it slide, and let it slide, then we are just letting them win but if we speak our minds as a large group and not give up we will be able to accomplish something as a community. How would you take action in a scenario like this one?