# Monsanto: Agent Orange and the Fields of Vietnam (Part 3)

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611/monsanto-agent-orange-and-the-fields-of-vietnam-part-3.md
Podcast: [The History of Fresh Produce](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611)
Published: 2026-05-05T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://hfp.captivate.fm
Audio file: https://op3.dev/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/00f06b92-2913-44a4-9b6c-cd0bc123f9fb.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2956

## Resource

What was Agent Orange, the herbicide that fell like mist on the jungles of Vietnam — and how did a chemical born in a West Virginia factory end up destroying the food systems, forests, and bodies of an entire nation? Why did the company that knew its own product contained one of the most toxic substances ever identified keep that knowledge from governments, soldiers, and the Vietnamese farmers watching their rice paddies wither and die? And how does the story of twelve million gallons of dioxin-laced herbicide open a window onto one of the great recurring dramas of modern capitalism; from the misfiled letters of Nitro to the class action courtrooms of the 1980s, and the generations of Vietnamese children born into a war that never quite ended? Join John and Patrick for the third episode of their Monsanto series — Rachel Carson, Operation Ranch Hand, the veterans nobody believed, and the distance between what a company says it is doing and what it is actually doing — in an age when the most dangerous chemical in the world was still being sprayed on American rice fields fifteen years after it had been banned from the jungles of Vietnam... ---------- In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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