Friday, March 31, 2017
Agent Orange
In the 1960s the U.S military sprayed nearly 20,000,000 defoliants in Vietnam. This was used to destroy the agriculture that was feeding the Vietcong troops. Agent orange was one of these defoliants and was used commonly by U.S troops. There are many issues with using this substance such as health effects and environmental effects. There are many negative health effects with using agent orange. These include an increased chance of birth defects, an increased chance of getting cancer, and heart disease. The issues concerning birth defects and health defects in children was a major issue in Vietnam. In the 1970s researchers found large amounts of Dioxin in the breast milk of south Vietnamese women, and high amounts of Dioxin in U.S veterans blood. Also, there was a large impact on the environment. Spraying these defoliants caused nearly 12,000 sq miles to be affected by these chemicals, which in turn caused many animals and plants to die. This hurt both the amount of food produced in South Vietnam and caused the toxins to be spread out through the food chain.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Do you think it was fair that the US military sprayed this harmful agent on crops in Vietnam? Personally, I don't think the military really thought through the possibility of the many long-term harms that you listed that negatively affected both the Vietnamese and American troops. Would there have been any possible alternatives that would have inflicted temporary damage on the crops and were easier to remove?
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to consider the long term effects this would have on the environment. Often times in war, people don't consider what it could mean further down the road. Loss of lives, destroying the environment and the economy can all be negative side effects. The real question is what did the US gain by fighting this war. Of course, it's easier to see it now we know the ending but even going into the war, the US didn't really have a clear aim except to blindly end communism wherever it sprang up.
ReplyDelete