Agent Orange, Conflicts of Past and Present

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There were many factors that led to the creation of Agent orange. This map illustrates the early journey in the discovery of the growth hormone that resides within plants. As discussed in David Zierler’s book The Invention of Ecocide, the travel of discoveries that led to the formation of Agent Orange began with Charles Darwin in 1880. Darwin published a book titled The Power of Movement in Plants, and in it he states his theory that an unknown force moves plants from root to tip. He was correct and in 1885 the specific substance was discovered by E. H. Salkowski.  Salkowski discovered indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) which is the growth substance Darwin hypothesized in his book five years prior. In 1911 further strides are made when Boysen-Jensen places a strip of gelatin between a section of plant and the plant kept growing. This led him to the discovery that it was by a chemical process that IAA moved through the plant. In 1926 F.W. Went was able to isolate the growth hormone. A year later after he traveled to America he and his lab partner are able to synthesize the growth hormone. Not only able to create it but when added the plants respond as if it is the real growth hormone. From there the discoveries take off. Many people claimed first discoveries of the tweaked formulas. During World War Two, due to the hold on publishing materials, many scientists made the same discoveries at the same time in multiple places. This map has a lot to do with Agent Orange as a whole. These discoveries changed the face of agriculture and war.

Here is the link to the map through Google Maps. Mapping Agent Orange