Southern Exposure is an award-winning print journal and magazine published by the Institute for Southern Studies, publisher of Facing South, from 1973 until 2011. Southern Exposure earned a national reputation and won several awards, including a National Magazine Award and two George Polk Awards, for its writing and investigative reporting on a broad range of political, economic, and cultural issues in the South.

Vol. 17 No. 2 - Summer 1989
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Magazine cover with photo of Frank Perdue standing in a chicken house, text reads Ruling the Roost

Ruling the Roost

  • Dateline: The South

    Compiled by Margie Stude

    2

  • Southern News Roundup

    4

  • Dirty Developments

    The Atlanta business boom has brought industry and people to Georgia. It has also ruined the water and choked the air. By Julie B. Hairston

    8

  • Chicken Empires

    How poultry has gone from a backyard hobby to an engine of efficiency that cripples workers and poisons consumers. By Bob Hall

    12

  • From Egg to Table

    A step-by-step chart shows how chicken gets to your table. Illustration by Jacob Roquet

    18

  • Don't Count Your Chickens

    Poultry companies promise farmers good money—but some growers wind up with big debts and empty barns. By Barry Yeoman

    20

  • Inside the Slaughterhouse

    Working at breakneck speeds in one of the most dangerous of all industries leaves some poultry workers crippled for life. By Barbara Goldoftas

    27

  • "I Feel What Women Feel"

    Poultry organizer Donna Bazemore talks about life on the line—and overcoming the fear. Interview by Bob Hall

    31

  • All Pain, No Gain

    The systems designed to protect Virginia poultry workers are failing. Here's why. By Joe Fahy

    36

  • The Fox Guarding the Hen House

    Warning: USDA-approved chicken may be hazardous to your health. By Tom Devine

    41

  • Fiction: Clover

    By Dori Sanders

    46

  • Southern Refugees

    Millions of Southerners, black and white, made the long journey North. Now, some are coming home. By Eric Bates

    52

  • Destination: Detroit

    Southerners living in the Motor City helped organize the auto industry—and their values continue to guide the union. By Sam Stark

    57

  • The New Exiles

    Out of work and out of luck, thousands of West Virginians are moving farther South in search of work. By Norman Oder

    61

  • The Last Word

    64
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