Image via Complex Original
Today marks the 134th birthday of famed author and journalist Upton Sinclair, who is best known for his muckraking novel, The Jungle. Sinclair intended for the novel to reveal the plight of the working man as a victim of capitalism, however, the readers were more concerned with the unsanitary and unsavory practices of the meatpacking industry. This led to one of the accidental consequences of the novel: widespread reform of food processing and manufacturing.
Now, food manufacturing and processing plants are of much higher quality than they were over a century ago, but some of the practices can still turn our stomachs (pink slime comes to mind). While everyone likes to think that their vegetables are picked fresh by farmers, hand-washed, and delivered straight to the supermarket, that's not how it works. So, for an inside look at the food industry, here is An Unsettling Look at Where Your Food Comes From. Tip: Don't read this while eating lunch.
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White Slime Used in Hot Dogs and Bologna
[via ProPublica]
Bottles Filled at a Dairy Plant
[via Allianz]
Pastries Exit an Oven After Baking
[via GFI Bakery]
Tomatos Are Rinsed After Harvesting
[via Britannica]
Meat is Subjected to Quality Inspection
[via Risk Tech]
Poultry is Inspected on a Conveyor Belt
[via Picasa]
Plates of Frozen Dinners are Filled Mechanically
[via SME World]
Workers Sort Ears of Frozen Corn
[via Britannica]
A Worker Separates Turkey Meat
[via International Business Times]
