Urbanization
provided many things in the early 20th century, leisure time and
mass production being the main things. The presence of leisure time allowed
people to go out. People went out tot eat at restaurants with family and
friends. The innovation of canned food allowed food to be preserved better
added more variety to what people in America ate. The social aspect of urbanization
allowed people to talk and share recipes which also altered what, and how
people cooked their food. Mass
production changed the way of buying food. The creation of tin cans, changed the
way people stored food, and the creation of the lithograph machine, changed the
way companies advertised their products.
The
can was invented a lot earlier than what I thought. The first idea of the can
was made by Appert, who was a chef for the French nobility. He was interested
in the study of food preservation and had done many experiments. His first
experiment was with a champagne bottle sealed with a mixture of cheese and
lime. He improved on this experiment and later his factory had packed meat in
tin cans, and observed which ones would stay fresh the longest. He was later
awarded with the Directory Prize for his genius idea. Later he published his
method in a book named The Art of Preserving for Several Years. All Animal
and Vegetable Substances”.
Advances in technology created a
faster way of transporting goods, canned food for example. Not only was the
food going to stores a lot quicker, there was more food going to stores because
of mass production. Based on a newspaper article written in 1910 by Ruby
Bashford, canned goods were the most dependable source of food. Canned goods were
revolutionary to this time period. These days we consider canned goods are for
those who do not have access to fresh
food but for some people in the Victorian Era, they were considered to be an
extravagance. People depended on canned goods very heavily. In the same
newspaper article, Bashford discussed what would happen if you were to take
away canned goods from a woman. Bashford says “What would she do without canned
goods? The only alternative is to live in a boarding house which she can never, under any circumstances, seem like
home And there she would be served with the same canned goods anyways.” This
expert from the article shows that there really isn’t an escape from canned
goods in this time period, even if you were to get rid of them in your home you
would be given them somewhere else. That’s how big canned goods were. However
there was a downfall to these canned goods. The presence not knowing what was
truly inside the can was frightening to some, and this changed the way many
food companies packaged their goods.
Upton
Sinclair published an eye opening book named The Jungle in 1906. Critics
say that this book was a “grim indictment that led to government regulations of
the food industry”. It was because of Sinclair’s book that the government made
changes to the way food was packaged, shipped, and sold, and because of this, The
Jungle is known as “one of the most impactful
book on American history”. According to an article called “Purity as Life”,
Sinclair’s book focuses on the “anxiety” and “distrust” consumers had with
unknown places of food production. This sparked the attention of the US government,
and thus the change in food regulations. The biggest change was the Meat Inspection
Act of 1906. This act was the commencement of federal regulation on the nations
meat, egg and poultry supply. This law requires inspection on all ‘meat-processing
plants’. And any article of food that had been adultured or misbranded was
considered unlawful. If someone was found guilty of doing so they were to be
fined al least $200 on their first offense and any offence after that would be $300,
and there was a chance of one year in prison. Food companies had to change many
things in order to meet the requirements of the law, including packaging and
advertising.
H.J
Heinz also helped with creating a healthier way of producing canned goods. His
religion of Christianity is what motivated him to find a way to purify these
goods. According to “Purity as Life”, Heinz says the following: “the people in
the United States are willing to pay for the quality [sic] and, it is not
necessary for us to lose money because we are giving the best. When we simply
advance the price on an article we don’t tell you we are giving it away, we
tell you we are giving you quality, the best money can buy”. Heinz is referring
to the improvements made to the production of canned goods; they were now being
made with double seamed packaging, and there was now a proper label on cans. It
was important the food companies included what was in their cans, because if
not they would now be following the proper regulations. Branding the cans also
showed the quality of the food. Cans were made of tin-plate containers and
covered with paper which had information about the products. Due to urbanization
and advancement in technology, a machine was built to trim and stamp tins.
Later a lithograph machine was invented to directly transfer images to the can.
These innovations created a trust between food companies and their consumers.
The
innovation of canned goods was only successful because of urbanization. All of
the machines, realization, advances, and innovations were all key factors. Food
preservation and health issues were brought to the attention of the public. By
doing so the government was able to improve the way of packaging with effective
regulations. Without urbanization, these changes would not have been made. And
without urbanization we would not be where we are in the food industry today.
Sources:
Britannica; food processing- I used this source to find information on the methods of food processing.
- I used this source to find information, on bacterial discoveries.
- I used this source to find information about H.J Heinz, and how he created a way to purify food, and his reasoning behind it.
- I used this source to find a newspaper about canned goods in the time frame of 1910-1920. This source also was a reliable source for a primary source.
- I used this source to collect information about how the workers would label cans, and what the cans were made of.
- I used this source to find information on when and by whom the first can was created.
- I used this source to look up early food regulations, and used this source as a "key terms" source so that I could further my research.
- I used this source to get information on the Armour and Company. I learned from this source that this company was the first to produce canned meat.
- I used this source to further my knowledge on the meat inspection act, which I found on the FDA website.
- I used this source to find out how food companies labeled cans, process wise, and what was on the labels.
- I used this source because the website where I found information about H.J Heinz referenced "The Jungle". I wanted to know what effect this book had on the government and changes in food regulations
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