Question

there was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was mouldy and white—it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption.
—upton sinclair, the jungle, 1906
what was the immediate response to the practices mentioned in this excerpt?
a monopolies formed to control competition in the meat - processing industry.
b meat packers developed refrigerated railroad cars to ship meat nationwide.
c congress passed legislation to protect consumer health and safety.
d farmers demanded government regulation of livestock sales and distribution.

Explanation:

The excerpt from The Jungle exposes unsanitary and unsafe meat - processing practices. The immediate response was that Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act to protect consumer health and safety. Option A is incorrect as monopolies forming isn't related to the response to these unsanitary practices. Option B is incorrect because refrigerated railroad cars were developed earlier and not as a response to this excerpt's exposed practices. Option D is incorrect as the issue here is with meat processing, not livestock sales and distribution by farmers.

Answer:

C. Congress passed legislation to protect consumer health and safety.