In 1906, Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, about conditions in industrial meat packing plants, was published. It was a fictionalized account of what it was like in the meat packing industry, and how horrible working conditions were in meat packing plants. Sadly enough, much of what happened in this novel was absolutely true, and was taken from real experiences. This novel served as a wake up call that led to a series of improvements in the industry to make our food safer and to provide better conditions for factory workers.