When crops were destroyed, the Viet Cong would compensate for the loss of food by confiscating more food from local villages. Some military personnel reported being told they were destroying crops used to feed guerrillas, only to later discover, most of the destroyed food was actually produced to support the local civilian population. For example, according to Wil Verwey, 85% of the crop lands in Quang Ngai province were scheduled to be destroyed in 1970 alone. He estimated this would have caused famine and left hundreds of thousands of people without food or malnourished in the province. According to a report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the herbicide campaign had disrupted the food supply of more than 600,000 people by 1970.
When crops were destroyed the Viet Cong would compensate for the loss of food by confiscating more food from local villages Some military personnel reported being told they were destroying crops used to feed guerrillas only to later discover most of the destroyed food was actually produced to support the local civilian population For example according to Wil Verwey 85% of the crop lands in Quang Ngai province were scheduled to be destroyed in 1970 alone He estimated this would have caused famine and left hundreds of thousands of people without food or malnourished in the province According to a report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science the herbicide campaign had disrupted the food supply of more than 600000 people by 1970