NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In the early 1900 +s many new changes were made in an effort to improve the business practices and social problems of the time. One of the many changes was the formation of the food and drug administration. It issued the first pure food and drug laws, which are federal regulations created to protect the consumer from contaminated or otherwise harmful food, drugs, and cosmetics. These laws were needed because the methods of preparing and shipping foods at the time were dangerous to everyones health. For example, the meat packing industry often packaged meat which had fallen on the floor or which carried harmful bacteria and germs.
They outlawed interstate transportation of contaminated foods, and prohibited the mislabeling of foods and drugs. One of the main reasons this problem was brought to public attention was by muckrakers, who were journalists with the cause of making the truth known to the public. They dragged up all the dirt, or raked up all the muck, on an industry, way of life, or anything, and exposed the underlying truth. The two most instrumental muckrakers in the realization of the food and drug administration were, Samuel Hopkins Adams and Upton Sinclair. Samuel Hopkins Adams was an American journalist and novelist who wrote articles on public health and medicine which were printed in Mcclure's and Colliers magazines. These articles helped very much to bring about the Pure Food and Drug.
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle, a particularly graphic example of muckraking. The book explains the life of a Lithuanian immigrant who finds work in the Chicago stockyards. It documents the unsanitary and unhealthy working condition practiced in the stockyards. The novel caused a public outcry when published and is believed to have been instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The laws were successfull in some ways and they failed miserably in others. By 1906 very little use had been made of advertising, other than the claims made on the label of the product.
Therefore it was felt that an emphasis on stating the truth on the label would be enough protection against misrepresentation and fraudulent terms. Since the act applied only to interstate commerce, however, it was evaded in an unexpected way: Goods were shipped without labels, which were added only after the goods were safely within state jurisdiction. The effectiveness of the law also suffered because it did not anticipate the dramatic changes taking place in consumer marketing and advertising. It did not cover cosmetics, obesity cures, or the newer habit-forming drugs. The law helped, however, in cutting down on contaminated foods and drugs which was due somewhat to improved sanitary conditions under which they were made. Although the laws could not see everything change for the better right away, they did provide a good foundation to work with.
The laws have been modified to fix their initial loopholes and remain in action today.
Free research essays on topics related to: food and drug, drug administration, foods, upton sinclair, pure food
Research essay sample on Food And Drug Upton Sinclair
