THE JUNGLE, REDUX

When I was a sophomore in high school in the early 1950's, our English teacher (who had rather advanced ideas for his day) included in our reading list for that year The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.  

Originally published in 1906, this novel told the story of a poor immigrant working in a meat packing house, in one of the few jobs available to him.  

The treatment of these workers in The Jungle, as in real life, was deplorable.  This was clearly the message Sinclair wanted the readers to take from this book.  But it was the descriptions of filthy conditions in the package houses that most caught the attention of the public.  

In fact, this book has been credited with giving the main impetus to the Federal meat inspection laws we take for granted today.  Evidence of this law is seen in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection logos stamped on meat in interstate commerce.   

Federal protection for packinghouse workers came much later and left much to be desired.  (Or as it could be said "too little, too late.").  

As author Upton Sinclair once famously said as his book became a bestseller that "I aimed for their hearts but hit their stomachs instead!"    

There have been some occupational health protections since, but packinghouse work still remains dangerous as workers with sharp knives in close quarters prepare the meat for market.

And now we have a new problem for these same workers: COVID-19.  We have seen major outbreaks in meat processing operations throughout the U.S.  And these workers -- crowded together as they trim carcasses --  transmit it to each other and bring it home to their families and communities as well.  

Apparently ignoring it at first, the large meat production companies, mainly in the midwest, have now been forced to recognize what this has done to their workers and their communities.  

https://joanscovid19blog.blogspot.com/2020/05/djt-forces-horrible-choice-your.html

But sadly, this has also been too little, too late.  What have we learned in the hundred-plus years since The Jungle was published?  And who will be our next Upton Sinclair?