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In a wide-ranging opinion piece, former American Meat Institute PR man Dan Murphy asks: "Could 9-11 have been prevented? You might as well ask, could the outbreak of BSE (mad cow disease) in North American [sic] have been prevented?... For those who question why our intelligence and law enforcement agencies didn't do everything possible to forestall 9-11, I would ask: Why didn't USDA implement the extraordinary measures taken since Dec. 23, 2003, to deal with BSE years ago?" His answer: "Whether the discussion is over terrorist attacks or the appearance of BSE, assuming that either could have been prevented is assuming a lot." And his take-home message: in order to "counter the radical activists," the meat industry must reach out to local communities and realize that "it's not only about changing laws, it's about changing hearts and minds."