It's worth noting that Sinclair invented his stories of "very unsanitary conditions of food production". They had very little basis in reality. Rather, Sinclair

It's worth noting that Sinclair invented his stories of "very unsanitary conditions of food production". They had very little basis in reality. Rather, Sinclair took any disgusting story or allegation he could find, assumed them true and typical, exaggerated for dramatic effect and invented new additional allegations. It was a work of fiction, not a report. It is true that new federal inspection laws were passed in response, but Upton himself opposed the new law, recognizing it as the boondoggle it was. (The meatpackers wanted it as a way to get federal taxpayers to fund inspection/certification that the packing companies otherwise had had to pay for themselves.) http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/ideas-and-consequences-of-meat-and-myth http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/ideas-and-consequences...