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KEEPING CHICKEN AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE MEAT WILL REQUIRE A SUSTAINED COMMITMENT TO BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH, ACCORDING TO THE POULTRY SCIENCE ASSOCIATION (PSA)

Past Findings Helped to Dramatically Improve the Quality, Safety
and Affordability of Poultry Products

New Challenges Pose a Threat to Per-Capita Consumption Growth and
Call for a Tighter Partnership between Research and Industry

SAVOY, IL (June 22, 2006) – In 1992 Americans for the first time began eating more chicken than beef, marking a milestone in the poultry industry and capping off more than three decades of growth in per-capita consumption of chicken. But while that trend has continued and chicken continues to fly high as U.S. consumers’ top meat choice, keeping it there will be a challenge, and will require a greater commitment to poultry research to confront many new issues facing the industry, according to The Poultry Science Association (PSA).

PSA is a global scientific organization of more than 3,500 scientists and educators that serves the poultry industry (and related industries) by promoting the discovery and dissemination of knowledge generated by poultry research.

“The trend of steadily increasing consumption of chicken and other poultry products in the U.S. was made possible by industry’s ability to deliver a very high quality product to consumers at an affordable price. The industry deserves a tremendous amount of credit for this. But it’s important to realize that many of the applications that the industry has incorporated into its processes derived from discoveries and technology transfer by scientists involved in basic and applied poultry research,” said PSA President S. F. Bilgili, Ph.D.

“As society and the world become more complex, new and in some cases unprecedented demands are being placed on poultry meat and egg production, as they are on other food products in a number of other industries. Rising to the challenge will require a stronger partnership between industry and research,” added Bilgili.

Current Benefits of Past Research

According to PSA, discoveries by poultry scientists have helped poultry companies increase both their production and economic efficiency by improving the health and quality of birds. In addition, says PSA, they have helped eliminate millions of dollars annually in production and processing costs.

For example, the widespread use in the industry of feather sexing as an alternative to vent-sexing continues to save poultry processors millions of dollars every year – savings that are passed along to the consumer in the form of lower retail prices for both broiler meat and table eggs. But feather sexing itself is a direct consequence of the discovery, in 1922, of the slow feathering gene by poultry researcher, A. S. Serebrovsky.

According to PSA, many additional discoveries by poultry scientists have benefited the commercial industry. Among others, examples include:
• Establishing the nutritional requirements of poultry for optimal growth and performance;
• Discovering vitamin and mineral requirements using chickens as a model;
• Developing culture and screening tests and vaccines for various bacteria, viruses and protozoans of animal health and human concern;
• Controlling diseases such as coccidiosis and Marek’s, without which the industry could not have expanded;
• Achieving advancements in reproductive efficiency of poultry – including separate feeding systems for sexes, semen collection, storage and artificial insemination, and incubation systems;
• Improving meat and egg quality and yield; and
• Enhancing poultry housing and management.

New Challenges Facing Producers

According to PSA, a number of issues confront today’s poultry producers, the resolution of which will depend on discoveries that can only be made by basic and applied research.

Said Bilgili: “The poultry industry currently faces challenges arising from several distinct quarters, including animal welfare groups, environmental concerns, government regulatory agencies, and consumers. For example, both consumers and government agencies continue to push for a safer food supply. Animal welfare groups are pressing for the development of improved animal welfare monitoring systems. The increasing urbanization of agricultural land is creating a greater demand for better environmental management techniques. And new restrictions on the use of antibiotics mean that alternatives to antibiotics will need to be developed. None of these issues has been adequately addressed, and all will depend on the work of poultry scientists for their resolution.”

Bilgili also noted that, like many other sectors both in and outside of agribusiness, the poultry industry was impacted by the events of September 11, 2001, the effect of which was to raise biosecurity concerns to the forefront. Addressing concerns about the safety of our food supply in the face of terrorism through the development of improved biosecurity systems will, according to Bilgili, require the dedicated work of PSA members to resolve.

According to PSA, many companies in the poultry industry employ some research scientists (most of whom are members of PSA) for research and development work. However, the bulk of poultry research – and virtually all encompassing basic research – is, according to PSA, conducted by scientists in diverse disciplines (poultry science, animal science, agricultural engineering, food science, biology, etc.) of Colleges of Agriculture located in Land Grant Institutions, and in state or federal agricultural research centers .

“For the last 50 years or so, industry and academia have for the most part enjoyed a close relationship. Industry has benefited from scientific discoveries, technology transfer through extension programs and educational programs targeting traditional and non-traditional students in various disciplines of poultry science. In return, poultry scientists have benefited from research funding (e.g., research grants) and scholarship support for students provided by the poultry and allied industries. The need for an even closer relationship between industry and academia is greater today than ever before, and the PSA is excited to have this as one of its strategic goals,” said Bilgili.

About PSA

The Poultry Science Association (PSA) is a global scientific society dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge generated by poultry research – knowledge that enhances human and animal health and well-being and provides for the ethical, sustainable, and economical production of food. Founded in 1908, PSA has a global membership of about 3,500. For more information, go to www.poultryscience.org.