--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And workers who needed to go to the…" description: "\"“And workers who needed to go to the bathroom weren't allowed to take a break. They were forced to pee right on the slaughterhouse floor, near meat tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/eric-schlosser-3894_food_and-workers-who-needed-to-go-to-the-bath_708651.png" --- # And workers who needed to go to the bathroom weren't… ![“And workers who needed to go to the bathroom weren't allowed to take a break. They were forced to pee right on the slaughterhouse floor, near meat that people would soon be eating.” quote by Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/eric-schlosser-3894_food_and-workers-who-needed-to-go-to-the-bath_708651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/eric-schlosser-3894_food_and-workers-who-needed-to-go-to-the-bath_708651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/eric-schlosser-3894_food_and-workers-who-needed-to-go-to-the-bath_708651.png) > ““And workers who needed to go to the bathroom weren't allowed to take a break. They were forced to pee right on the slaughterhouse floor, near meat that people would soon be eating.”” [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Workers were denied basic dignity, forced to relieve themselves in unsafe conditions, highlighting exploitative labor practices. **In simple terms:** Workers were forced to pee on the floor. Key Takeaway Demand humane workplace standards. Themes labor rights human dignity food safety exploitation Mood outraged concerned Type expositional critical When to use this quote - restaurant kitchens - slaughterhouses - low‑wage jobs - regulatory inspections Key Concepts industrial agriculture power dynamics occupational health Questions to Reflect On - How can consumers influence better labor standards? - What policies could prevent such abuse? A Different Perspective Such conditions may persist where enforcement is weak. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Slaughterhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughterhouse/) ## Related quotes > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“One time I took my knife and sliced off the end of a hog’s nose, just like a piece of salami. The hog went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-a-eisnitz/one-time-i-took-my-knife-and-sliced-off-the-end-of-a-hog-s-nose-just/) Gail A. 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It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-think-that-anyone-who-eats-meat-should-visit-a-slaughterhouse-at/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he will always see that word: murder—immortally inscribed upon the pediment of that vast slaughterhouse—humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/wherever-he-goes-whatever-he-does-he-will-always-see-that-word-murder/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [“(Slaughterhouse workers have the highest injury rate of any job —27 percent annually —and receive low pay to kill as many as 2,050 cattle a shift.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/slaughterhouse-workers-have-the-highest-injury-rate-of-any-job-27/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“In the heart of the slaughterhouse -- always -- enough room to nourish the awe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-heart-of-the-slaughterhouse-always-enough-room-to-nourish-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Eric Schlosser > [Twenty years ago, teenage boys in the United States drank twice as much milk as soda; now they drink twice as much soda as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/twenty-years-ago-teenage-boys-in-the-united-states-drank-twice-as/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [So for everything I do, I'm very clear about what I'm doing, and I tell people what it's about. 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