Date of Award

Fall 12-2022

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Chair

David Cochran

Committee Chair School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Member 2

Dana Fennell

Committee Member 2 School

Social Science and Global Studies

Committee Member 3

Joby Bass

Committee Member 3 School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Abstract

This thesis examines the impacts of the poultry industry in seven counties in the Piney Woods region of South Mississippi: Wayne, Jones, Forrest, Lamar, Jefferson Davis, Marion, and Pike. Current research indicates that the poultry industry has a significant impact on the cultures and economies of rural towns throughout the United States. There is no current research that examines the effects of the poultry industry on residents of the Piney Woods. This thesis addresses that gap in the research and contributes to current understanding of how the industry molds and impacts the lives of those intimately associated with it.

I interviewed thirteen individuals for this research, including farmers, former processing plant employees, and an association leader in the professional poultry community. I used snowball sampling to locate and identify these respondents and I developed an open-ended interview guide to elicit conversation about their experiences. I used their testimony to address three primary research questions: 1) What are the sociocultural effects of the poultry industry in Mississippi? 2) How does the poultry industry influence the physical landscape of the Piney Woods? 3) How did Covid-19 impact the poultry industry in Mississippi? My research findings indicate that the poultry industry has significant influence over the culture and landscape of rural communities in Mississippi and throughout the Southeast United States. It is my hope that by researching the relationship between the poultry industry and the Piney Woods agricultural communities, we can better understand how the large-scale commercial industry impacts the economic backbone of Mississippi.

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