031242 “Father” of Poultry Industry Dies At 92

Henry Saglio, who helped make poultry the most popular meat in America when he slashed production costs by breeding a meatier bird that matured quickly and laid more eggs, died on Dec. 13 at a nursing home in Connecticut. He was 92.

The cause was cardiac arrest, his daughter, Janet Saglio, said.

"He is the father of the poultry industry," said Frank Perdue, chairman of the executive committee at Perdue Farms. "He put so much time and focus into this that even a year ago he was still coming up with ideas.

Using only a small coop he had fashioned from an old piano, Saglio began raising chickens while growing up on a fruit and vegetable farm in rural Connecticut.

His interest in breeding started when a friend said he wanted white-feathered chickens instead of the more unsightly dark ones.

Saglio soon bred a flock of completely white-feathered chickens, and went on to breed White Rocks that had extra meat, reached maturity quickly and laid more eggs. The bird was a hit, taking second place in the 1948 "A&P Chicken of Tomorrow" contest in Delaware.

He built on that early success by transforming his parents' farm, Arbor Acres, into what became a leader in poultry genetics for four decades. With operations in 21 countries, the company helped set off a poultry boom that sharply increased the meat's popularity and made it one of the least expensive meats.

"Back then, chicken was probably the most expensive meat you could buy," said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council in Washington, which Saglio helped found in 1954.

"Most people only ate it occasionally, like one night a week," Lobb said. "The industry needed a bird that could produce a lot of meat and grow to market size quickly. By cutting down on production costs, Saglio came up with a more desirable product."

Today, the Department of Agriculture says, chicken consumption in this country stands at about 82.1 pounds per person, well above the consumption of beef.

In the early 1960s, Lobb said, Americans ate only 28 pounds per person a year.

Source: New York Times

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