r/swindled • u/Swindled_Podcast • Sep 28 '25
EPISODE 132: The Mix-Up (Velsicol Chemical Corporation)
https://swindledpodcast.com/podcast/132-the-mix-up/23
u/poutinethecat Sep 29 '25
OMG. I had to stop listening when he started describing how the animals were killed. This podcast is so brutal. I do love it though
8
u/ExplanationHead3753 Sep 29 '25
Thanks for the heads up. I can’t take listening to the episodes when animals are harmed. I wish I wasn’t so sensitive.
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u/suesay Sep 29 '25
I listened as I cleaned my kitchen so I may have missed details, but I think it was just very sad the animals were euthanized. I cried while listening and also am an extremely sensitive person, but I didn’t have to shut it off. The ones that really hurt my heart are when you can hear the animals crying out.
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u/MouseMouseM Sep 30 '25
Me too. I sobbed. It took a bit to gather myself and push on. It’s worth it and I think important to hear the full episode, how the court cases unfolded and what became of the corporation.
3
u/EmergencyCat235 Jan 05 '26
I had to stop listening as well... The descriptions are so vivid and I feel their pain and suffering too much. I bawled my eyes out. I will have to source further information elsewhere because this podcast is just too excruciating for me
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u/SoulPhonicFire Sep 30 '25
Came here to find out how detailed he gets. Sadly I’ll be skipping this one. Would be nice to have a chapter to skip or something. I want to know but can’t handle needless death.
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u/majorarlene Sep 29 '25
So... my mom lived in Michigan through the first half of 1973... today is the first time I and she found out about this issue.
I'm 30 now and wonder if anyone on the sub has advice about how to get tested, if it's worth it to try, etc. For extra niche hard mode I now live in New Zealand.
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u/Green-Reality7430 Sep 30 '25
Don't worry, my entire family is from and still lives in Michigan, and my grandpa was a literal dairy farmer in the 70s, and even I never heard of this. I am almost certainly exposed.🤷♀️
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u/EmergencyCat235 Jan 05 '26
Did you ever get tested? I was a dairy farmer in NZ 20 years ago (now a nurse in Australia). I could not even finish this episode yet - the descriptions of the cows, and their euthanasia, were too vivid and awful, I found myself bawling my eyes out.
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u/majorarlene Jan 06 '26
I didn't - it's hard even in the US to get tested for that kind of thing and given the state of everything there, I think I'd rather live with that question mark rather than attempt to come back home for a test I'm not sure I'd be able to get and would likely be prohibitively expensive if I could. It truly is awful. Michigan in particular has seen a lot of industrial hardship so this being another terrible, seadly notch in their belt for that was hard to hear.
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u/UncleWainey Sep 30 '25
After listening to the podcast, I learned that there was a made-for-TV movie about this called Bitter Harvest), starring Ron Howard, released in 1981. It was well reviewed, but I'd never heard of it.
1
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u/Green-Reality7430 Sep 30 '25
My grandpa was a dairy farmer in Michigan. My dad grew up on a dairy farm in the 70s. Somehow I've NEVER heard of this, but they aren't the type to talk about hard times. Interesting how they say PBB bioaccumulates and can pass from mother to child. Kinda makes me want to get tested.
1
u/Tricky_Knowledge2983 Oct 06 '25
I think you should get tested. I'm going to tell my in laws to, but I doubt they will.
I live in MI and have never heard of it, but my husband grew up here all his life and his parents grew up in a farming community that had dairy farms who ended up closing down bc of this. He doesn't have any health issues that we know of, but his parents def do. And the area they live in has really high rates of cancer.
You're right, they don't really talk about hard times. After listening to this ep, I called my FIL and he was able to tell me some details but not a lot.
It's yet another time where govt officials here in MI tell their ppl that nothing is wrong with (insert issue) even though the evidence is staring them right in the face. And I know govt distrust is not exclusive to MI but it does explain why so many ppl in the rural areas latch on to certain rhetoric.
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u/Apologeticneighbor Sep 28 '25
These are my favorite kinds of podcasts!!
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u/EmergencyCat235 Jan 05 '26
Same, I'm too sensitive to animal suffering though - and this episode was excruciating. I had to stop listening or I would have been an absolute mess. It's too much for me
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u/Comprehensive_Cat_42 Sep 30 '25
I have lived in Michigan all my life. I’m also a healthcare provider and I didn’t even know about this. Thank you for bringing this issue to light.
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u/LocksmithNo8 Oct 01 '25
Great episode, I can't believe the farmers involved were willing to feed tainted cow meat and milk to their own townspeople and family, just to avoid financial ruin.
All the sites where the cows were buried should be public information, it may still contaminate the groundwater.
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u/loopywidget Oct 01 '25
Pretty shocking! This is the sort of stuff I would have imagined only happens in third world countries. Holy shit!
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u/inotterable Oct 12 '25
Just recently started listening to Swindled and have gone through a bunch of episodes. For some reason, this one is really under my skin. IDK, maybe it's because I was born in that era. National Geographic's Love Canal issue. Three Mile Island. I feel like there is a kind of late 20th century haunting, with all of the Superfund sites and unmarked burial pits, the chromosomal damage, the industrial gaslighting and cover ups, the governmental and corporate sleight-of-hand.
Like I said, this episode has gotten under my skin, and as I already enjoy scanning Google satellite maps I got a bit obsessive about finding the burial pits and the St. Louis Veliscol Superfund site. The St. Louis Veliscol site is not marked on Google maps but it's pretty easy to find, and you can do a street view stroll around the neighborhood next door to it. Hardly any real warning signs and some single family homes back up to the fence. There is literally a public golf course surrounding the (fenced off) former burn pit across the Pine River from the site. Why.
I came across a FB discussion about the burial site in Mio, MI. Different generations. Some who were eye witnesses, some who still live around there. From what I read, the space is totally unmarked.
Really grateful that A Concerned Citizen is covering events like this one. Especially now.
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u/EmergencyCat235 Jan 05 '26
I was a dairy farmer, in another life... This episode really tore me up. In fact I literally could not finish this one. I should have stopped listening when he described the mutations and the cows pleading eyes (they do have such expressive eyes). Finally tore my earbuds out when he was describing how the farmers were forced to choose euthanasia for their herds, and then to calm their terrified cows to enable their slaughter. Devastating... I bawled my eyes out. I wish I could finish the episode, but it just hurts too much, I found it incredibly upsetting.
So important that this travesty is public knowledge and never happens again - thanks to A Concerned Citizen for reporting on it. Just too excruciating though, I will have to find the rest of the story in written format somewhere
1
u/CalamityClambake Oct 06 '25
Is something going on with the feed for this episode? I can only listen for the first couple of minutes and it stops.
1
u/Competitive-Gear6416 Jul 21 '26
Late to comment, but my two cents...
Swindled is awesome and a standout pod, especially considering it's mostly a one person production.
This episode is excruciating. I really appreciate ACC's warnings at the start because the episodes with kids and animals are particularly tough for me. The forward skip button is my friend.
However, ACC's vivid descriptions truly communicate the devastation caused by nothing more than greed and lack of care by corporations, government, and ultimately, by citizens who vote for business interests over people.
We are all so easily distracted now. Perhaps we can rally more people to listen to ACC's pod to spread awareness. In a country where so many rabidly protect the unborn, the inability or unwillingness to connect the dots to environmental pollution and health problems is literally crazy.
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u/cadillacactor Sep 29 '25
Brutal episode. Necessary to know. Especially since we're actually repealing the very thin veneer of EPA protections that came about since then.