HLTH 1020 Signature Assignment:

Learning Outcome #1: Explain the impact that the food industry has on human food choices
and the subsequent relationship to health and disease at the individual, societal, and
environmental level.

Learning Outcome #2: Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production
to the advancement of the science of human nutrition.

Answer #1: The food industry has a very significant impact on food choices in the world.
Food choices can lead to disease, illness, and possible fatality. The food industry needs to
do its part on making the best possible way for a persons food choice. In the meat packing
industry in 1906, the food industry wasnt healthy and safe for the people. Not being healthy
gives them no choice of being healthy. They must get their desired nutrients and they cant
do that correctly without a proper industry.

Answer #2: Advancements have come very far for food production. Meats are no longer
handled by hand but rather my machine now. New laws were set in stone so that we could
create healthier foods in a safer environment.

Michael Schaefer

July 27, 2017 HLTH 1020

Nutrition Perspectives

The Jungle-Upton Sinclair

I chose the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I recently read this book during my senior year of high

school so I am still very familiar with it. I chose this book because it was one I had interest in. I chose it from a

required reading list thinking it would be about a jungle, not knowing anything about it. I choose to read it again

because of what I learned about the brutal conditions of the meat packing industry in relation to health and

nutrition. Although The Jungle was focused around the early 1900s food industry, there is a good takeaway about

the differences in health then versus now in current time. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I

think its one of those stories that everyone should read just once in their lifetime.
 Its found to be unique that Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the bitter conditions of the 1900s

meet packing industry. Thats exactly what the book did and thats why it is considered a book of history. Upton

Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1878. When Upton was born, he was denuded to

dichotomies. Being sick really hurt his childhood and his young mind, let alone his family lived on the boundaries of

poverty. He was very intelligent as a young boy and ended up developing a passion for reading, eventually

becoming a writer. Sinclair doesnt have much of a nutritious background. Sinclair is not only known as a novelist,

but an activist as well. You can see how he gained his activist title from his books, especially this story. Sadly,

Upton passed away in 1968 ate the age of ninety. Upton is known as a crusader for social justice. The Jungle was

published in 1906. The book is about an immigrant named Jurgis from Lithuania seeking an improved life. Jurgis

quickly realizes his new job is not what he expected it to be. The story quickly goes from happiness to grief for

Jurgis. Jurgis becomes treated unfairly by Phil Connor, the owner of the packing town. Phil Connor is abusive,

provocative and unfair when it comes to Jurgis and his wife Ona. Not only is the book about the meat packing

industry but its also about the physical and mental toll it took on the workers in the industry. Sinclair really took

his time on how to expose the meat packing industry and he very well executed it. The meat packing industry is

not very similar today as to what it was in the 1900s. Laws and acts were passed and organizations where formed

to create a healthier society.

New federal good laws where set in stone by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Roosevelt passed the meat

inspection act of 1906. The law was passed to create supervision over the meat industry. In 2017, we dont have

too many food industries as we did one hundred years ago. We can thank the food and drug administration (FDA)

for their work. The FDA is the federal agency for all food, pharmaceutical inspections. Other countries in the world

dont have agencies like the FDA to regulate their food. A lot of sickness and disease can come from unregulated

foods in third world countries. Roosevelt also signed the Pure Food and Drug Act, regulating food additives and

mislabeled items. The result in the signing of these two laws was significantly positive for peoples health and

overall quality of life. These acts are still applicable today.

 A lot of the diseases that are mentioned in our textbook can come from unregulated food and drugs. Not

getting the right amount of certain foods and nutrients can be damaging to the body. A lot of Illness that come

along with foods that dont meet qualifications can lead to sickness and even fatality. I learned a lot from

completing the nutrition perspectives assignment. I was recently in Thailand and Cambodia. While I was there I

was grateful for organizations like the FDA. It was hard to eat at places with bug problems, cob webs etc. I did end

up getting sick a few times because my body doesnt normally eat a lot of these exposed, unregulated foods. Its

great we have laws that keep us safe from the dangers that can come along with nutrition. I think we often take for

granted how easy we have it living in the United States. Not being served un-healthy foods is something I barely

think about being American and I think a lot of us take it for granted. Im sure here is foundations in third world

countries that are providing better health through nutrition, it would be smart to keep continuing with those. I

learned a lot from reading The Jungle, I was totally uninformed about the acts passed by Theodore Roosevelt.

E Television Networks, A. &. "Upton Sinclair." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 22 May 2017. Web. 27 July
2017.

The New York Times. The New York Times, n.d. Web. 27 July 2017.

Costly, Andrew. "Upton Sinclair's The Jungle:Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry." BRIA 24 1 b Upton Sinclairs
The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry - Constitutional Rights Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2017.

"The Jungle." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 27 July 2017.

Sinclair, Upton. The jungle. Middletown, DE: SnowBall Classics Publishing, 2017. Print.

Reflection

Ive never really taken a relative health class since the required one in high school. The high school
health is more about maturing and exercise. This Health 1050 class taught me a lot more about what
foods do, what foods are needed, the illness side and future life like having a child. I didnt really know
what to expect when taking this course. I know it is required but I wanted to learn how to become a
healthy eater and build a better eating schedule. I can defiantly say I learned some good skills regarding
my expectations. My assumptions have become either proven wrong or correct. The food label
assignment could show me what was really on a label and I learned about the new labels as well. If I
took this class again in the future I would have started the non-chapter assignments earlier so I could
have more time to look around and make them better.