Following the unprecedented $289mn verdict against Monsanto in California, Hanoi is seeking justice for victims of exposure to the Agent Orange – the notorious chemical the firm supplied to the US military during the Vietnam War. 
 
 After a San Francisco jury proved Monsanto not invincible and ordered the chemical giant to pay $289 million to a school worker who argued he got terminal cancer after using its Roundup herbicide, Vietnam has also demanded compensation from the St. Louis-based company. 
 
 “The verdict serves as a legal precedent which refutes previous claims that the herbicides made by Monsanto and other chemical corporations in the US and provided for the US army in the war are harmless,” deputy foreign ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Tra said Thursday. “Vietnam has suffered tremendous consequences from the war, especially with regard to the lasting and devastating effects of toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange.” 
 
 READ MORE: Jury orders Monsanto to pay California man $289mn in ‘probably carcinogenic’ Roundup trial 
 
 Around three million people in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange during a brutal chemical warfare campaign between 1961 and 1971, in which 12 million gallons of herbicide produced by Monsanto Corporation, among others, were dropped over the jungle to defoliate it. Because of such a high level of exposure to dioxin, a byproduct found in Agent Orange, millions of Vietnamese continue to suffer health conditions, often resulting in deformities which are passed through gene mutations to future generations. 
 
 Monsanto, which has never acknowledged its role in the devastation, argues that Agent Orange “was only produced for, and used by, the government,” noting that Monsanto was just one of nine wartime government contractors who manufactured the same toxin from 1965 to 1969. 
 
 READ MORE: Agent Orange victims in Air Force Reserve now eligible for compensation 
 
 Monsanto was acquired by German giant Bayer AG in June, in a merger deal valued at $66 billion. Following the cancer compensation verdict, shares in the pharmaceuticals company took an enormous hit. Luckily for US markets, though, since Bayer is now the sole owner of Monsanto, it is no longer traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, lawsuits against Monsanto surged from 5,200 to 8,000, requiring the new owner to engage in costly legal battles. 
 
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 While the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup) is not carcinogenic, the European EPA labeled it a carcinogen in 1985, but reversed its position in 1991. The company itself maintains that no clear position on glyphosate exists in the scientific community, and that more research is needed. The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015. 
 
 Meanwhile, Bayer announced that it will appeal the August 10 verdict that found Monsanto liable for cancer due to prolonged exposure to the company's glyphosate-based product. “We believe it is wrong,” Werner Baumann, chief executive officer of Bayer AG, noted. The firm said its position on glyphosate is “supported by 800 studies and reviews done over many decades.” 
 
 “They conclude glyphosate can be used safely and does not cause cancer. Farmers and growers have been using glyphosate safely and effectively for more than 40 years,” it said. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Vietnam has demanded Monsanto pay compensation to the victims of Agent Orange, which the company supplied to the US military during the Vietnam War. 
 
 It came in response to the firm being ordered to pay $289m (£226m) to a school groundsman who claims his use of its Roundup weedkiller contributed to his terminal cancer. 
 
 “The verdict serves as a legal precedent which refutes previous claims that the herbicides made by Monsanto and other chemical corporations in the US and provided for the US army in the war are harmless,” a spokesman for Vietnam’s foreign ministry, Nguyen Phuong Tra said. 
 
 He told state media: “Vietnam has suffered tremendous consequences from the war, especially with regard to the lasting and devastating effects of toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange.” 
 
 Agent Orange was a chemical herbicide and defoliant used by the US military to deprive Viet Cong guerilla fighters of food and concealment. 
 
 Between 1961 and 1971, the US military sprayed around 12 million gallons of the chemical substance on over 30,000 miles of southern Vietnam. 
 
 Shape Created with Sketch. The legacy of Agent Orange Show all 12 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The legacy of Agent Orange 1/12 Danang, Vietnam Le Van Dan looks at his disabled grandson Le Van Tam as his daughter feeds another sick grandson in their family house in Phuoc Thai village, outside Danang. Le Van Dan, a former artillery soldier with the South Vietnamese army, said he was exposed to Agent Orange more than once, including being directly sprayed by U.S. planes near his village before he joined the military. Health officials confirmed two of his grandsonsâ disabilities are due to his exposure to the defoliant, Le Van Dan said Reuters 2/12 Danang, Vietnam 7-year-old Nguyen Van Tuan Tu, who suffers from serious health problems, is looked after by a family member under a mosquito net in their house near the airport in Danang, in central Vietnam. When Nguyen Van Tuan Tu's father started working at Danang International Airport in 1997, he was not aware of the health risks associated with Agent Orange and he collected fish and snails from a contaminated lake nearby for the family to eat. His first child to be born after he started working at the airport, was born in 2000 and died in 2007. Nguyen Van Tuan Tu was born in 2008 with same symptoms as his late sister and doctors and parents believe their health problems are linked to effects of Agent Orange. The couple have one healthy daughter who was born in 1995, before they started working at the airport, and she is now a university student. Danang airport was a U.S. airbase during Vietnam war and since 2012 both the U.S. and Vietnam are conducting a clean-up operation at the site Reuters 3/12 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 12-year-old Tran Huynh Thuong Sinh is fed by a hospital staff member at the Peace Village in Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Tran Huynh Thuong Sinh, whose parents and grandfather were all exposed to Agent Orange, was born without eyes and with other serious health conditions. Officials at the hospital link his health problems with exposure to the defoliant. According to the head of the Peace Village, more than two-thirds of its over 60 patients are from areas that were heavily sprayed by Agent Orange and their health conditions are linked to the use of the defoliant. 4/12 Lai Van Manh smiles as he lies under a mosquito net in the family home in Tuong An village, in Thai Binh province in northern Vietnam. His father Lai Van Bien, a former intelligence officer in the North Vietnamese army, said that during the Vietnam war he served in an area that was heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. Lai Van Bien and his wife now care for their two physically and mentally disabled sons whose health condition the family and local officials link to the effects of Agent Orange. Reuters 5/12 Pham Thi Phuong Khanh is fed by a hospital staff member at the Peace Village in Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Both of Pham Thi Phuong Khanh's parents were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. According to the head of the Peace Village, more than two-thirds of its over 60 patients are from areas that were heavily sprayed by Agent Orange and their health conditions are linked to the use of the defoliant. Reuters 6/12 Dang Thi Quang and her son Nguyen Van Binh are reflected in an aquarium in their home in Vietnam's Quang Binh province April 11, 2015. Nguyen Van Binhâs father, a soldier who served in the North Vietnamese army's transportation unit, travelled and spent time in areas known as hotspots for Agent Orange contamination Reuters 7/12 Phan Van Lam falls out of a hammock in his family home in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Phan Van Lam's father, a former fighter with the North Vietnamese army, said he was not directly sprayed with Agent Orange during the Vietnam war but lived in areas that were heavily affected by the defoliant. Local doctors told him that his son's health condition, which includes severe brain damage, is linked to Agent Orange Reuters 8/12 Doan Tue holds his granddaughter, as a picture of him in military uniform hangs on the wall, at their family house in Truc Ly, in Vietnam's Quang Binh province April 11, 2015. Doan Tue, a soldier who served on 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns during the Vietnam war, said he lived in several areas that were contaminated by Agent Orange. Two of his sons were born with serious health problems and the family and local health officials link their illnesses to their father's exposure to Agent Orange. His older son died two years ago Reuters 9/12 Tang Thi Thang baths her disabled son Doan Van Quy outside their family home in Truc Ly, in Vietnam's Quang Binh Province April 11, 2015. Doan Van Quy's father, a soldier who served on 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns during the Vietnam war, said he lived in several areas that were contaminated by Agent Orange. Two of his sons were born with serious health problems and the family and local health officials link their illnesses to their father's exposure to Agent Orange Reuters 10/12 A former soldier Do Duc Diu is kissed by his disabled daughter Do Thi Nga as his wife sits at the doorway of their house in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Twelve of his fifteen children died from illnesses that the family and their doctors link to Do Duc Diu's exposure to Agent Orange. Do Duc Diu served as a North Vietnamese soldier in the early 70s, in areas that were heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. He only found out about the possible dangers of Agent Orange before his last child was born in 1994. He said that if he had known about the possible effects of Agent Orange he would not have had children. Before he found out about the effects of Agent Orange, Do Duc Diu said that he and his wife visited many spiritual leaders and prayed at different shrines as they attributed their children's sickness to their ill-fated destiny Reuters 11/12 Former soldier Do Duc Diu prays at the cemetery where twelve of his children are buried, after showing the graves to reporters, near his house in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Twelve of his fifteen children died from illnesses that the family and their doctors link to Do Duc Diu's exposure to Agent Orange. Do Duc Diu served as a North Vietnamese soldier in the early 70s in areas that were heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. He only found out about the possible dangers of Agent Orange before his last child was born in 1994. He said that if he had known about the possible effects of Agent Orange he would not have had children. Before he found out about the effects of Agent Orange, Do Duc Diu said that he and his wife visited many spiritual leaders and prayed at different shrines as they attributed their children's sickness to their ill-fated destiny Reuters 12/12 63-year-old former soldier, Nguyen Hong Phuc, sits on the bed with his son Nguyen Dinh Loc, 20, who is recovering from tumour surgery at Friendship village, a hospice for Agent Orange victims, outside Hanoi. Nguyen Dinh Loc has serious mental and physical problems that his family and doctors link to his father's exposure to Agent Orange. His father joined the military after the U.S. army stopped using Agent Orange in 1971, but lived in areas heavily contaminated by it, including near Danang airport, where the chemical defoliant was stored. 1/12 Danang, Vietnam Le Van Dan looks at his disabled grandson Le Van Tam as his daughter feeds another sick grandson in their family house in Phuoc Thai village, outside Danang. Le Van Dan, a former artillery soldier with the South Vietnamese army, said he was exposed to Agent Orange more than once, including being directly sprayed by U.S. planes near his village before he joined the military. Health officials confirmed two of his grandsonsâ disabilities are due to his exposure to the defoliant, Le Van Dan said Reuters 2/12 Danang, Vietnam 7-year-old Nguyen Van Tuan Tu, who suffers from serious health problems, is looked after by a family member under a mosquito net in their house near the airport in Danang, in central Vietnam. When Nguyen Van Tuan Tu's father started working at Danang International Airport in 1997, he was not aware of the health risks associated with Agent Orange and he collected fish and snails from a contaminated lake nearby for the family to eat. His first child to be born after he started working at the airport, was born in 2000 and died in 2007. Nguyen Van Tuan Tu was born in 2008 with same symptoms as his late sister and doctors and parents believe their health problems are linked to effects of Agent Orange. The couple have one healthy daughter who was born in 1995, before they started working at the airport, and she is now a university student. Danang airport was a U.S. airbase during Vietnam war and since 2012 both the U.S. and Vietnam are conducting a clean-up operation at the site Reuters 3/12 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 12-year-old Tran Huynh Thuong Sinh is fed by a hospital staff member at the Peace Village in Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Tran Huynh Thuong Sinh, whose parents and grandfather were all exposed to Agent Orange, was born without eyes and with other serious health conditions. Officials at the hospital link his health problems with exposure to the defoliant. According to the head of the Peace Village, more than two-thirds of its over 60 patients are from areas that were heavily sprayed by Agent Orange and their health conditions are linked to the use of the defoliant. 4/12 Lai Van Manh smiles as he lies under a mosquito net in the family home in Tuong An village, in Thai Binh province in northern Vietnam. His father Lai Van Bien, a former intelligence officer in the North Vietnamese army, said that during the Vietnam war he served in an area that was heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. Lai Van Bien and his wife now care for their two physically and mentally disabled sons whose health condition the family and local officials link to the effects of Agent Orange. Reuters 5/12 Pham Thi Phuong Khanh is fed by a hospital staff member at the Peace Village in Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Both of Pham Thi Phuong Khanh's parents were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. According to the head of the Peace Village, more than two-thirds of its over 60 patients are from areas that were heavily sprayed by Agent Orange and their health conditions are linked to the use of the defoliant. Reuters 6/12 Dang Thi Quang and her son Nguyen Van Binh are reflected in an aquarium in their home in Vietnam's Quang Binh province April 11, 2015. Nguyen Van Binhâs father, a soldier who served in the North Vietnamese army's transportation unit, travelled and spent time in areas known as hotspots for Agent Orange contamination Reuters 7/12 Phan Van Lam falls out of a hammock in his family home in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Phan Van Lam's father, a former fighter with the North Vietnamese army, said he was not directly sprayed with Agent Orange during the Vietnam war but lived in areas that were heavily affected by the defoliant. Local doctors told him that his son's health condition, which includes severe brain damage, is linked to Agent Orange Reuters 8/12 Doan Tue holds his granddaughter, as a picture of him in military uniform hangs on the wall, at their family house in Truc Ly, in Vietnam's Quang Binh province April 11, 2015. Doan Tue, a soldier who served on 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns during the Vietnam war, said he lived in several areas that were contaminated by Agent Orange. Two of his sons were born with serious health problems and the family and local health officials link their illnesses to their father's exposure to Agent Orange. His older son died two years ago Reuters 9/12 Tang Thi Thang baths her disabled son Doan Van Quy outside their family home in Truc Ly, in Vietnam's Quang Binh Province April 11, 2015. Doan Van Quy's father, a soldier who served on 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns during the Vietnam war, said he lived in several areas that were contaminated by Agent Orange. Two of his sons were born with serious health problems and the family and local health officials link their illnesses to their father's exposure to Agent Orange Reuters 10/12 A former soldier Do Duc Diu is kissed by his disabled daughter Do Thi Nga as his wife sits at the doorway of their house in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Twelve of his fifteen children died from illnesses that the family and their doctors link to Do Duc Diu's exposure to Agent Orange. Do Duc Diu served as a North Vietnamese soldier in the early 70s, in areas that were heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. He only found out about the possible dangers of Agent Orange before his last child was born in 1994. He said that if he had known about the possible effects of Agent Orange he would not have had children. Before he found out about the effects of Agent Orange, Do Duc Diu said that he and his wife visited many spiritual leaders and prayed at different shrines as they attributed their children's sickness to their ill-fated destiny Reuters 11/12 Former soldier Do Duc Diu prays at the cemetery where twelve of his children are buried, after showing the graves to reporters, near his house in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam April 11, 2015. Twelve of his fifteen children died from illnesses that the family and their doctors link to Do Duc Diu's exposure to Agent Orange. Do Duc Diu served as a North Vietnamese soldier in the early 70s in areas that were heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. He only found out about the possible dangers of Agent Orange before his last child was born in 1994. He said that if he had known about the possible effects of Agent Orange he would not have had children. Before he found out about the effects of Agent Orange, Do Duc Diu said that he and his wife visited many spiritual leaders and prayed at different shrines as they attributed their children's sickness to their ill-fated destiny Reuters 12/12 63-year-old former soldier, Nguyen Hong Phuc, sits on the bed with his son Nguyen Dinh Loc, 20, who is recovering from tumour surgery at Friendship village, a hospice for Agent Orange victims, outside Hanoi. Nguyen Dinh Loc has serious mental and physical problems that his family and doctors link to his father's exposure to Agent Orange. His father joined the military after the U.S. army stopped using Agent Orange in 1971, but lived in areas heavily contaminated by it, including near Danang airport, where the chemical defoliant was stored. 
 
 Dioxin, a highly toxic element of Agent Orange, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. 
 
 Millions still suffer to this day, as deformities are passed down to the offspring of exposed victims including Vietnamese and American forces. 
 
 Monsanto has argued: “The government set the specifications for making Agent Orange and determined when, where and how it was used. Agent Orange was only produced for, and used by, the government.” 
 
 In a post on its website, the company notes it was one of nine government contractors who manufactured the chemical. 
 
 Monsanto was founded in St Louis, Missouri, in 1901. In June, it was acquired by Bayer AG.
– Bayer may want to pop one of its namesake aspirins. In addition to facing some 8,000 lawsuits (at last count) claiming that glyphosate herbicides produced by Monsanto—a company that the drugmaker bought in June—cause cancer, Vietnam is now demanding compensation because of the use of another Monsanto product: the Vietnam War-era herbicide Agent Orange. The demand from Vietnam comes after a recent California verdict in the case of a former groundskeeper dying of cancer that put Monsanto on the hook for $289 million, the Independent reports. That verdict, a spokesman in Vietnam says, "refutes previous claims that the herbicides made by Monsanto and other chemical corporations in the US and provided for the US army in the war are harmless. Vietnam has suffered … lasting effects of toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange." Some 12 million gallons of Agent Orange—so named after the orange stripe painted on the barrels that contained it— were dumped over Vietnam between 1961 and 1971 to defoliate the jungle, according to RT.com, exposing some three million people to the chemical dioxin, a toxic component of the herbicide linked to birth defects, cancer, and other health problems. Millions of Vietnamese still suffer, according to reports, and some related health problems are passed to future generations. In a statement on its website, Monsanto reiterates that it was among nine contractors to manufacture Agent Orange, adding that the government provided the recipe and determined when, where, and how it was used.