S4 Ep45: The Lysine Cartel: How an Informant (Sloppily) Exposed Archer Daniels Midland

Crimes of the Centuries

Amber Hunt and Audioboom

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mark Whitacre, a high-ranking exec at the agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland, approached the FBI with some scandalous news: His employer was part of an international cartel illegally inflating the cost of lysine, an additive used in animal feed. What Whitacre ultimately helped uncover landed more than just his bosses in prison.

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes on the Grab Bag Patreon page.

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Transcript

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0:54.4	everything secure.
1:01.8	Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society, or even
1:09.2	earn the label Crime of the Century.
1:12.5	But the stories that made headlines in decades past aren't necessarily remembered today.
1:19.6	I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist and author, and in each episode of this show, I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.
1:29.3	This is Crimes of the Centuries.
1:33.3	Today's case is one of those crimes you might vaguely remember if you're of an age.
1:51.6	But you can't quite recall the specifics because, one, it was a white-collar crime,
1:57.7	which means there is little crime scene evidence to pour over that isn't a complex
2:02.4	financial spreadsheet, and that's no fun. And two, who the hell ever heard of lysine,
2:08.2	the amino acid that started this whole mess? Oh, and three, who cares if a bunch of agribusiness
2:15.9	men spent years meeting at various spots around the globe
2:19.0	to be sure they all agreed on its price?
2:23.0	Well, you should care.
	...

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