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Records the life experiences of Alice Velazquez from her childhood to her current endeavors in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She discusses her childhood, jobs she has had throughout her life, her marriage, her children, and her housing opportunities in Harrisonburg after moving from New York state.

Records an interview with Mary N. Venable of Staunton, Virginia, who discusses her personal history and employment at the Perdue poultry plant in Bridgewater, Virginia, from 1998 until 2003. Topics include her work on various production lines; working in the freezer and with frozen meats; relationships with coworkers; OSHA; Spanish-speaking employees at work; supervisors; hourly wages and benefits; mechanization; parties and office celebrations; her retirement; and her role helping friends and neighbors with transportation. Venable also discusses the Booker T. Washington high school in Staunton, various teachers in school, and segregation in Saunton.

Records an interview with Mary N. Venable of Staunton, Virginia, who discusses her work experiences in New York City and Bridgewater, Virginia. Venable describes her work for K-Mart in New York City, where she worked in distribution, advertising, shipping, and computing. Venable also discusses her work at Perdue poulty plant, where she worked from 1998 until 2003. Topics include wages and pay rates; working in the cold; working overtime; changing demographics of the employees; retirement plans and 401K plans at Perdue; her decision to retire; unions and labor; prejudice and racism; immigration and voting. She discusses changes she has observed in the Staunton community over time.

Records an interview with Jim and Laura Vines, cattle farmers and former poultry growers from Verona, Virginia. Jim Vines discusses topics including buying a 150 acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley in 1978, working for Rocco, Inc. and his relationship with the Strickler family; his work as an electrical engineer and Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO); competition within the poultry industry; stigma associated with being a turkey farmer; challenges of converting poultry houses for other use; investment in cattle and his calf-cow operation. Vines describes various aspects of the poultry business, including diseases; different breeds of toms (male turkeys); the process of packaging chicks for mail delivery; moisture content and heat in the poultry houses; feed and nutrition for poultry; and the rating scale used to rank and pay growers.

Records an interview with the unnamed VP of Sales of the Shenandoah Valley Poultry Growers Cooperative, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, who discusses daily work in production, sales and distribution. Other topics include previous work at Pilgrim's Pride and Cargill; SVPGC decision to sell antibiotic-free, vegetarian-fed turkeys; pricing and contract models with growers and distributors; relationship with the The USA Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC); controlling processing costs; branding and marketing in different regions of the country; grain prices and concern about the impact of ethanol and corn production; farm bill and agricultural subsidies; and consolidation in the poultry industry, super market chains, and food services.

Records in interview with Jacqueline B. Walker, associate professor of History at James Madison University, regarding her work as a turkey grader at the Marvel Poultry Plan, in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Topics include uniform and dress, training by USDA inspectors, working on the conveyor belt, union membership and strikes, her observations about social dynamics at the plant, rules and safety precautions, automation, and her views on Japanese and American approaches to manufacturing and production

Records an interview with Charles Wampler, Jr., age 92, who discusses the origins of the Wampler businesses, the history of turkey growing, and his own role in the family business. Topics include recollections of Charles Wampler, Sr. incubating and hatching turkey eggs; the beginnings of the Wampler Feed and Seed Company and then Wampler Foods; business connections to Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute); the Wampler family farm, including raising Angus cattle; his own education and early employment within the poultry industry; work developing the turkey industry in the country of Turkey; The Virginia Poultry Federation and National Turkey Federation; early use of peat moss for turkey litter; mergers and acquisitions, including Pilgrim's Pride and Longeacre; relationship with the Strickler family at Rocco; changes in contracts; the turkey inspection process; purchasing grain and the feed; breeds of turkeys; de-beaking turkeys; the transition from range to confinement; and Wampler's view of organics.

Records an interview with Charles Wampler, Jr. who worked for the Wampler poultry businesses. Topics include his education at Dayton High School and Bridgewater College; work for the Wampler Feed and Seed company; building turkey houses; the family chicken, cattle and feed businesses; contract growing as a business model; different breeds of turkeys, including bronze, Holland, and white; changes in the grow-time for turkeys; poultry diseases, medications, and drugs; the transition from raising turkeys on range to raising them in confinement; vertical integration in the poultry industry; poultry litter and waste disposal; relationship with the other poultry companies; retirement in the 1970s. In a follow-up interview, Wampler discusses the Wampler Feed and Seed Company and changes in poultry nutrition; the contract model for growing turkeys; the formation of Wampler-Longacre and Wampler Foods, Inc.; sale to Pilgrim's Pride; and the Virginia State Poultry Federation.