Which novel led to the establishment of the FDA?

Which novel led to the establishment of the FDA?

• A. Sinclair Lewis
• B. Henry James
• C. Upton Sinclair
• D. John Steinbeck

Answer: (C)

Discussing how reform can come from powerful exposure of unsafe practices helps you see why this novel is the catalyst here. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle exposed horrific unsanitary conditions and adulteration in the meatpacking industry, shocking readers and prompting public demand for safer food. That outrage helped push through the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906, which established federal oversight of foods and drugs and set the stage for a centralized regulatory body that would become the FDA. So the work is tied to the origin of modern food and drug regulation. The other authors wrote important literature, but their works didn’t trigger this kind of regulatory reform.

Discussing how reform can come from powerful exposure of unsafe practices helps you see why this novel is the catalyst here. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle exposed horrific unsanitary conditions and adulteration in the meatpacking industry, shocking readers and prompting public demand for safer food. That outrage helped push through the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906, which established federal oversight of foods and drugs and set the stage for a centralized regulatory body that would become the FDA. So the work is tied to the origin of modern food and drug regulation. The other authors wrote important literature, but their works didn’t trigger this kind of regulatory reform.