President Kennedy approved spraying various mixtures that include 2,4,5-T, another powerful herbicide, 2,4-D, and other chemicals on the jungles of Vietnam. As U.S. involvement in Vietnam increased, so did the defoliation efforts. Agent Orange, consisting of equal parts of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, was introduced in 1965. Several chemical companies were compelled to provide the Army with Agent Orange under the Defense Production Act (Glasser 1986, 514). By the time its use ended in 1970, 11.2 million gallons had been sprayed over about 10 percent of South Vietnam’s land area.

Potential dangers of herbicide toxicity in general and of Agent Orange in particular had been known by Army officials for some time. Monsanto, one of the largest producers of Agent Orange, informed army officials that 2,4,5-T was a toxic substance as early as 1952. A 1963 Army review of toxicity studies of 2,4,5-T concluded that there was an increased risk of chloracne (a severe but often treatable skin condition) and respiratory irritations, and that the risk was heightened when the chemical was applied in high concentrations by inexperienced personnel.

http://www.perc.org/articles/government-recalcitrance

Through a series of transactions, the Monsanto that existed from 1901 to 2000 and the current Monsanto are legally two distinct corporations. Although they share the same name and corporate headquarters, many of the same executives and other employees, and responsibility for liabilities arising out of activities in the industrial chemical business, the agricultural chemicals business is the only segment carried forward from the pre-1997 Monsanto Company to the current Monsanto Company. This was accomplished beginning in the 1980s:"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Spin-offs_and_mergers

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