Runninghead:THEVIETNAMWARANDAGENTORANGE

TheVietnamWarandAgentOrange
JaleahC.Price
TheExplorationAcademy

05.13.15

THEVIETNAMWARANDAGENTORANGE

TheVietnamWarandAgentOrange
AgentOrangeisacontroversialtopic.Itmayberesponsibletohavecaused
lastinghealtheffectsofveteransoftheVietnamwarandcitizensofVietnam.The
HerbicidewasusedinVietnamfromabout1962to1971tokillvastareasofjungleto
allowtheU.Smilitarytoobservetheenemy's,SouthVietnam's,movement.Agent
Orangeisamixtureof2,4dichlorophenoxyaceticand2,4,5trichlorophenoxyacetic
acid.Itsnamecamefromtheorangestriped55gallondrumsitwasstoredin.Dueto
contaminationofthetwoingredientsAgentOrangecontainedlevelsofdioxin.The
exposuretoAgentOrangeleftbehindmuchanguishandstillcontinuestokillvictims
decadeslater.Between2.1and4.8millionVietnamesewereexposedtotheherbicide.
TheexposuretoAgentOrange,thedioxincontaminantandotherchemicalsmaybe
linkedtochronichealthproblemssuchascancer,birthdefectsandotherdiseases.At
thetimewhenAgentOrangewasusedthealliessawitasusefulandpredicteditwould
haveapositiveoutcome.AlsoifyouvisittheMonsantositeitdescribestheuseof
AgentOrangewastoProtectandsavethelivesofU.S.andalliedsoldiers.Monsanto
isAmericanmultinationalagrochemicalandagriculturalbiotechnologycorporationthat
ispubliclytraded.
Furthermore,veteranorganizationsfiledasuitagainstcompaniesresponsiblefor
theterrificsymptomsofAgentOrangeexposure.Thesevencompaniessettledfor$180
millionin1984.Monsantowasrequiredtopay45.5percentofthattotal.Followingthat,
veteranswantedastudycompletedbytheFederalgovernmenttoexaminewhetheror
nottheexposureofAgentOrangewasresponsibleforchronichealthproblems.One

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concernoftheveteranswasandstillmaybeiswhethertheexposuretotheherbicide
anddioxincontaminationisassociatedwiththelastinghealtheffectsnamedabove.
SomeactionwasmadewhenCongressorderedaninvestigationandfromtheresome
responsibilitywastakenbytheCenterofDiseaseControl.However,nothingwas
completedbytheCDCbecausetheyclaimthattheirAgentOrangesprayrecordsand
otheravailablematerialcouldnotaccuratelyconcludethedegreeofdioxinexposureof
thosewhoservedinVietnam.EventhoughitwastheU.S.militarywhoexposedthe
VietnamesetoAgentOrangethegovernmenthasnottookanyresponsibility.One
theoryisthegovernmentwillnotadmitAgentOrangewasharmfulandgruesome
becauseitcouldfallundermaylawsuitsfromveteranswhoservedduringVietnam.
Surprisingly,recentlyVietnamhaswelcomedtheAgentOrangemanufacturer,
Monsanto,intoitscountry,again.Inspiteofthemanydeathsthathavebeencausedby
AgentOrangeandisstillclaiminglives,theVietnamesearesellinggeneticallymodified
cornvarietiesintheircountryproducedbythebiotechgiantMonsantoandother
manufacturers.ItappearsthattheVietnamesebelievethattheuseofGMOsareastep
intherightdirectionandwillbebeneficialsinefforttofeedthethegrowingpopulationof
about90millionpeopleatareasonableprice(TheDiplomat).Thetopicofthetwo
unitingafterwhatAgentOrangehasdonetothousandsofpeopleisverycontroversial.
Activists
haveexpressedtheworryandfearthatthethecountrycouldfallbackwards
andanothertragedycouldhappen.TheuseofAgentOrange,backthen,wasthoughtto
havehad,andsomemaystillbelieve,beneficialvalues.Theherbicidedidfulfillthe
desireoftheU.S.military,butitalsotookthousandsoflivesandcontinuestodo

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damageonthelandandonpeople.Inpresentdaythegeneticallymodifiedcorn,again,
manufacturedbyMonsantoisbelievedtohavebeneficialvaluesfornow,butwillitbe
seenthesameinthefuture?WillMonsantosmodifiedcornandtoxicweedkillerbea
repeatofthetragedyofAgentOrange?
EventhoughVietnamisusinggeneticallymodifiedcorntofighthunger,thereare
negatives.AccordingtoTheInstituteforResponsibleTechnology,GMOsdonot
increaseyields,butactuallyworkagainstfeedingthehungry.[C]urrentGMOshave
nothingtoofferthegoalsofreducinghungerandpoverty,improvingnutrition,health
andrurallivelihoods,andfacilitatingsocialandenvironmentalsustainability.
Furthermore,theInternationalAssessmentofAgriculturalKnowledge,Scienceand
TechnologyforDevelopment2009report,Failuretoyield,statesthatGMOcropyields
werehighlyvariableandyieldsdeclined.AlsoaccordingtoTheInternational
Assessment,whenhumanseatGMOsthereismaterialleftbehindinsideofthemthat
mayleadtolonglastingproblems.ToaddontothatGMOsincreaseherbicideuse.
Monsantosweedkillernotonlyisnotenvironmentallyfriendly,butalsotheGMOcorn
containshigherresiduesoftoxicherbicides.Theweedkillerislinkedtosterility,
hormonedisruption,birthdefectsandcancer.Thesearejustafewaspectsofhow
GMOscanhavenegativeeffects.Onpreventdisease.comthereisamapthatshowsthe
worldandwhereGMOcropsarewelcomed.AsyoucanseeGMOcropsarenot
welcomedinallcountries.ThecountriesintheredarecountriesthatwelcomeGMO
crops.ThefewcountriesinyellowhavelawsthatrestrictthedevelopmentofGMO
crops.RussiaandtheothercountriesthataregreenareGMOfreeorthereisanational

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banonGMOcrops.TherisksofGMOcropscanbeonereasonwhythecountriesin
greenareGMOfreeorhavebannedthem.
Addingontothat,geneticallymodifiedorganisms,suchascorn,aremodified
usingagenegun,whichisaformofbiotechnology.Biotechnologyisanythingthat
changestheDNAsequenceofanorganism.Agenegunisatoolthatallowssynthetic
DNAtobefiredintoacell,transformingthecell.Thetooltransformsthecellbyshooting
smallgoldparticlescoatedwithDNAintothecell.Onereasonwhyorganismsseeds
aregeneticallymodifiedistocreatearesistancetothingssuchaspests,weeds,
drought,andvirusessothattheycanbeharvestedandtheirsurvivalwillnotbe
threatened.WhentheparticlesareshotintothenucleusoftheorganismtheDNA
coatedonthemchangesthesequenceoftheorganismsDNA,whichiswhyitsaform
ofbiotechnology.ThisnewsegmentofDNAthatisincorporatedintotheplantsDNAis
agenethatmakestheorganismresistant.Farmersandcompaniesgeneticallymodify
plantseedssothattheyareabletoharvestmoreplantsandultimatelymakemore
money.
Betweenthe1940sandthelate1960stheThirdAgriculturalRevolution,also
knownastheGreenRevolution,occurred.Therevolutionwasaimedtoeliminate
starvationbyincreasingriceandwheatyield.Themid1960spopulationswereatahigh
andhungerandmalnutritionaffectedcountriesaroundtheworld.Scientistsbeganto
developnewtechnologiestoincreaseagriculturalproduction.AnAmericanbiologist
namedNormanBorlaugh"createdadwarfvarietyofwheatthatputmostofitsenergy
intoediblekernelsratherthanlong,inediblestems.Theresult:

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moregrainperacre"(NationalGeographic).TheInternationalRiceResearch
InstituteinthePhilippinesalsodidsimilarworkand"dramaticallyimprovedthe
productivityofthegrainthatfeedsnearlyhalftheworld"(NationalGeographic).The
companyMonsantoalsowasinvolvedindevelopingnewtechnologies,suchasGMOs.
Somewherebetween1960and1970thepercentageofwheatyieldwasabout20
percentandriceyieldwasabout30percent.By1990thoseyieldspracticallydoubled,
andbothcropsincreasedtoabout70percent.
OneimpacttheGreenRevolutionandGMOshadwaswiththeincreaseinyields
andhigherprofitswhenfarmersbegantoincreasetheamountofriceandwheatthey
grew.Eventually,everyyearfarmersincreasedtheamountofcropstheygrew.Asia
specifically,eventhoughthecontinent'spopulationincreased,theincreaseofwheat
andriceyieldshelpedthosewhoweresufferingfrommalnutrition.Theywereableto
consume"nearlyathirdmorecalories,andthepovertyratewascutinhalf"(National
Geographic).NotallcountriesprofitedfromtheGreenRevolution,suchasAfrica.Poor
infrastructure,hightransportcosts,limitedinvestmentinirrigation,andpricingand
marketingpoliciesthatpenalizedfarmersmadetheGreenRevolutiontechnologiestoo
expensiveorinappropriate(InternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute).
SomenegativesoftheGreenRevolutionarethatitcausedenvironmental
degradation,incomeinequality,inequitableassetdistributionandfinallyworsened
absolutepoverty.Somearguethatownersoflargefarms"werethemainadoptersof
thenewtechnologiesbecauseoftheirbetteraccesstoirrigationwater,fertilizers,seeds
andcredit.SmallfarmerswereeitherunaffectedorharmedbecausetheGreen

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Revolutionresultedinlowerproductprices,higherinputprices,andeffortsbylandlords
toincreaserentsorforcetenantsofftheland."Anotherargumentofcriticsis"theGreen
Revolutionencouragedunnecessarymechanization,therebypushingdownruralwages
andemployment."TheproblemwiththeGreenRevolutionis"thatitspreadonlyin
irrigatedandhighpotentialrainfedareas,andmanyvillagesorregionswithoutaccess
tosufficientwaterwereleftout."Thisiswhytherewasincomeinequality,andbecause
ofincomeinequalitythosewhowereinpovertyandlivedinthoseareaswherethere
wasnotsufficientwaterstayedinpoverty.
Toconclude,AgentOrangedidbenefitSouthVietnam.Itallowedthemto
successfullyfightagainstNorthVietnamandattheendhaveasuccessfulbattlethat
eventuallyledtoNorthVietnam'ssurrender.However,theuseoftheherbicidehas
causedatremendousamountofdestruction.FollowingthattheVietnamesehave
developedGMOproductions.GMOsareassociatedwithhealthandenvironmental
problems.Hopefully,Vietnamhaslearnedthelessonthataplanmaysoundgoodatthe
time,butmaynotbesogreatinthefuture.Toaddtothatthecountryshouldtakethe
rightprecautionstoprotectitselfandpreventthepastfromrecurring.

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References
HowAreGMOsCreated?(2013,August2).RetrievedMay13,2015,from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GyUuiqIZ0

InstituteforResponsibleTechnology.(n.d.).RetrievedMay13,2015,from

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10ReasonstoAvoidGMOs
Leung,B.(2014,November24).Vietnam,AgentOrange,andGMOs.Retrieved
May13,2015,fromhttp://thediplomat.com/2014/11/vietnamagentorangeandgmos/
:.Tokar,B.(n.d.).Agribusiness,BiotechnologyandWar.RetrievedMay13,2015,from
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Renneberg,R.,&Demain,A.(2008).Biotechnologyforbeginners.Amsterdam:Boston
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FreePlatformToProtectTheirCitizens.shtml
Folger,T.(2013,September1).TheNextGreenRevolution.RetrievedMay20,
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