Thursday, June 06, 2013

Monsanto's legacy of hidden dangers

Guys my age, who have friends who were poisoned in Vietnam by Agent Orange, don’t necessarily think of scary wheat when we hear the name Monsanto. No, we’re more likely to be reminded of the unlucky veterans who came home from the war to become the parents of children born with severe birth defects.

The wheelchair-bound daughter of one of my friends gets a monthly check from the federal government, because of what happened to her father during the Vietnam War.

After stonewalling for decades, in the late-‘90s the government finally admitted the connection between exposure to Monsanto’s Agent Orange and veterans’ children born with spina bifida (and other conditions) was undeniable.

Trusting Monsanto to know the hidden dangers of its products was foolish in the ’60s. Given its record and legacy, it’s even more foolish today.


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