Have you ever had a dream that was so good and seemed so real that, when you woke up, you tried to go back to sleep in hopes of recapturing it or at least picking up where you left off?

That happened to me when I dreamed of winning a Pulitzer Prize worth $10,000 for a series of probing and provocative reports detailing how the global meat industry joined forces and actually solved problems related to questionable processing methods blamed for poor beef-safety records. This was not an overnight job either, as I spent several intensive months researching, interviewing, writing and rewriting.

Early that day, prior to my wonderful dream, actual Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists for 2010 were announced. The prize that should have been mine based on my dream was awarded to Michael Moss and members of The New York Times staff “for relentless reporting on contaminated hamburger and other food-safety issues that, in print and online, spotlighted effects in federal regulation and led to improved practices.” The board moved the project from the investigative reporting category to the specialized reporting category.

There is no question that this work adhered to standards established by Joseph Pulitzer, who revolutionized the newspaper industry in the 19th century and then ensured that his legacy would endure thanks to his initial endowment to Columbia University and the annual rewards he established recognizing excellence in journalism and the arts beginning in 1917.

In that regard, there was nothing for me to do but to read the story that stole my thunder, so to speak.

To my surprise, the Dec. 31, 2009, article titled “Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned” focused in large measure on the processing program at Beef Products Inc., the company established by Eldon Roth.

Now you don’t usually win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism for praising accomplishments. Notably the major share of awards presented over the years went to writers and publishers of articles exposing government graft and corruption followed by reports of abuses of civil liberties.

The Moss article leads with the fact that Roth, a meat-industry entrepreneur, developed a novel approach designed to safeguard hamburger meat from the deadly E. coli pathogen that nearly decimated the beef industry in the early ’90s. Hundreds of people were injured and four children died after consuming hamburger patties adulterated by E. coli O157:H7. This happened at Jack in the Box restaurants in 1993, triggering years of civil lawsuits and tens of millions of dollars. One of its suppliers manufactured and sold the patties to the restaurant chain.

Enter BPI with it groundbreaking approach of marrying technology and manufacturing achievements to produce safe boneless lean beef derived from beef trimmings, a key ingredient in ground beef and hamburger blends produced by its grinding operation customers. Under the leadership of Roth, company founder and chief executive, BPI’s operating formula includes equal parts controls, safeguards, custom-designed equipment and sophisticated production procedures such as injecting beef with ammonia as a pathogen kill step. USDA endorsed the treatment it considered effective. Moreover, in 2007 when USDA institutionalized routine testing of meat used in hamburger, it exempted BPI.

That exempt status was rescinded with findings included in the Pulitzer Prize-winning article reporting the discovery of “E. coli and Salmonella pathogens dozens of times in Beef Products meat challenging claims by the company and the USDA about the effectiveness of the treatment.”

Ironically on Oct. 7, 2009, Eldon Roth was cited in the Congressional Record honoring his achievement in revolutionizing the industry and standardizing the quick-chill process that now assures high levels of food safety. According to an excerpt from the Congressional Record, “Mr. Roth has not only developed unique ways to increase the value of beef and pork, but he led a revolution in equipment design.”

I was there during the telephone call from U.S. Representative Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) informing Roth of induction into the Congressional Record. Kingston was joined by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) when Roth was recognized on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Although these are worthy accolades, they are not the stuff likely to win a Pulitzer Prize, for Joseph Pulitzer was about spotlighting the ills of society with reform in mind. That is a good thing. Consider this sampling of winners and finalists in the specialized reporting category over the years: Medication abuse in the elderly (1989 finalist); the struggle of Pacific salmon to survive man-made hazards (1988 finalist); and academics and athletics at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology (1985 winner). Then there was the 1973 prize awarded the Washington Post for its investigation of the Watergate case, which ended the Nixon presidency.

Point of continuity: Sometimes adhesion comes from adversity. Knowing what is wrong with something is halfway toward putting it right. That is the bottom line. The meat industry in conjunction with USDA has made tremendous strides relative to food safety, to be sure. Like it or not, however, many past improvements followed media exposure of questionable practices.

Since it is doubtful that I will win a Pulitzer Prize as an industry cheerleader — my record speaks for itself — I guess I will have to be satisfied with the fact that I once worked for a Pulitzer newspaper. Meanwhile, I plan to continue dreaming of better days ahead.