Deborah Blum

It's absolutely worse.

So they published the book and they sent it to Roosevelt and they sent it with a copy of their fact check.

meanwhile the jungle becomes this sort of literary sensation and everyone is focused on the horrors of the food production and it becomes such a scandal that finally roosevelt sends his own fact checkers to chicago and even though the packing houses knew they were coming things were so bad that roosevelt goes to congress and he says this is

terrible.

I want this fixed.

I want you to pass a meat inspection act.

And Congress, under pressure from the packing houses, says no.

And Roosevelt says, fine, I'm going to publish a portion of the report.

And then if you don't give me what I want, I'm going to publish the whole thing.

Instantly, Europe cancels all its meat contracts with the United States.

And at that point, the packing houses realize or the meat producers realize that they've got to get this fixed.

And they go back to Congress and they say, yes, we'll agree to a Meat Inspection Act.

And so, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 passes in June.

And then in this sort of tidal wave of fury, the bonfire finally at full roar, as it were, Roosevelt goes to Congress and he says, I'm going to sign a food and drug law if you pass one, and they pass it.

And it follows the Meat Inspection Act by about two weeks.

So the jungle gets us the Meat Inspection Act, and the Meat Inspection Act drives the politics in a way that gets us the first food and drug law.

Wiley and the Poison Squad laid the groundwork for people to realize just how dangerous the food supply was.

And even up until the 1906 law, people were increasingly writing to Congress and sending telegrams to the White House saying, I want some kind of protection.

So the sort of public will was growing.

And I admire the jungle.