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A panel of former government officials, food industry executives and a consumer advocate Friday called on the U.S. government to increase funding for agencies fighting to keep bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow from entering this country. During the BSE Symposium, held in Washington D.C. and sponsored by Edelman Public Relations, former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, now a partner at the DC-based law firm, Akin, Gump, said the U.S. is "years ahead" of Europe in protecting Americans from Mad Cow disease but cautioned that the measures are not "foolproof." Other panelists were Nick Nickelson, chief scientific officer, Foodbrands America, Inc.; Karen Brown, senior vice president, Food Marketing Institute; Lester Crawford, director, Georgetown University Center for Food and Nutrition Policy; and Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). O'Dwyer's PR Daily story on symposium.