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Essay / Social and Political Interactions in “Fast Food Nation” and “The Jungle”
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation both display different patterns of social and political interaction. The Jungle is the intense and moving story of the journey of a poor Lithuanian family who moved to Chicago to try a new life. What they didn't know, however, was the extent of the corruption, criminality, and political arrogance involved in living the lives they wanted. Fast Food Nation is a nonfiction novel about the factors in the fast food industry that influence every country in the world. Comparing these books and the information they contain can show how truly disturbing companies and their practices in the industry really are. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay These novels put into words the continuing struggles workers face, which have been much the same since the 1900s. The Jungle focuses on Chicago's meatpacking industry, while Fast Food Nation focuses on the fast food industry nationwide. On a social level, these novels talk about the mistreatment and poor wages of workers; On a political level, they discuss politicians' prejudices against industrial workers. There have been many instances where politics have interfered with safe and fair business practices in the Jungle. One of these cases, unfortunately very common at that time, was the use of diseased and supposedly "disease" meat in order to continue to make the most profit. Livestock that were destined to be thrown away were instead continued along the butchery line, being cut into every possible portion of meat that could be sold. This happened again with sausage making; everything was included in the sausage, from the old sausages that had been discarded, the meat that had been thrown on the sawdust-covered floors that the workers spat on, the meat that the water from the roofs ran on, the meat that the rats were running around, then the rats were poisoned and used as well. All that damaged, disgusting meat has been injected with chemicals and dyes to make it look like proper meat. Business owners have done everything possible to make as much money as possible and to pay their employees as little as possible. Fortunately, the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed in 1906. The Pure Food and Drug Act was put in place to prevent the production and sale of food and d other toxic, untreated and chemically adulterated products, while the Meat Inspection Act The law makes it compulsory to examine livestock before entering slaughterhouses, as well as carcasses after cutting. Since the passage of these laws, many other laws have also been passed in order to maintain the quality of American meat at the highest possible level of sterility. However, decades later, when the fast food industry was booming and hamburger meat was in high demand, other aspects of the meatpacking industry were discontinued. According to Fast Food Nation, one of the highest-paying manufacturing jobs has become one of the lowest-paying manufacturing jobs, with a workforce made up of mostly immigrant workers and rarely accounting for injuries. The company's injury rate was about three times higher than.