The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was passed alongside the Pure Food and Drug Act, requiring that all meat sold in interstate commerce be inspected by the federal government. The act was a direct response to the public outcry over the conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry, as detailed in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. It marked a major step forward in food safety regulation in the United States.

The Meat Inspection Act was a landmark victory for the muckraking literary movement, demonstrating the power of investigative writing to bring about social change. Sinclair's novel became a classic of American literature, and its impact on food safety policy is still remembered today. The act also inspired a tradition of food-related investigative journalism and poetry that continues to the present.