A
t 9, 9 miles, winding through seventeen different coun-
tries, the Pan American Highway holds the Guinness Book
of World Record as the longest motorable road in the world.
As it turns south from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, the
road passes through arctic tundra, boreal forests, prairies, arid deserts,
and mountains. In Costa Rica, the highway climbs to almost eleven
thousand feet before traversing the “Summit of Death.” Undeterred, it
continues across rivers and dense tropical jungle before abruptly stop-
ping deep in the Darién province of Panama. From here, the only way
south is by water or air, until starting up again in Colombia.
Darién is also where the United States and Panama established a
blockade to prevent foot-and-mouth disease from escaping northward
out of South America, into Central America and possibly North Amer-
ica. This highly contagious virus infects cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats.
It travels easily on air currents or through contact with other animals,
clothing, and equipment. When it is detected in a previously disease-
free country, other nations have imposed severe trade restrictions that
can last for years. In the past, because of the disease’s high financial
Chapter 6
Science à la Carte
It is not just the people who work in the laboratories who do the science, but everyone who
takes part in sponsoring, producing, justifying, or making use of scientific knowledge.
— Robert E. Kohler, 99
Kevin D. Walker, The Grand Food Bargain: And the Mindless Drive for More,
DOI 10.5822/ 978-1-61091-948-7_6, © 2019 Kevin D. Walker.