Michael Schmidt to take his raw milk saga to the Ontario Court of Appeal
Durham’s raw milk champion Michael Schmidt is back in the limelight after a judge ruled that his case will be heard by the Ontario Court of Appeal. To recap the long-winded ordeal: back in 2006, Schmidt’s raw milk co-op was raided by health officials, and a number of charges were laid against the farmer related to the sale of unpasteurized milk. He was found not guilty of all charges (and celebrated with a quirky milk-themed operetta), before the ruling was overturned, and Schmidt was slapped with a fine (that he refused to pay) and a year’s probation. The is-he-or-isn’t-he guilty seesaw could continue when the raw milk martyr arrives back in court (at least three months from now). [Toronto Star]
its illegal to buy milk. sigh.
When all milk sources were mixed together in storage tank trucks, milk from good farmers and bad were collected, and because of a few cases of milk fever, the result of the bad farmers’ milk, regulatory pasteurization and sterilization was decreed by the government, spoiling the taste of the milk. Every time government “regulates”, it kills initiative and takes away the right of choice. Farmers who took pride in the sanitary production of milk produced good, wholesome, clean milk. I would love to be able to get unpasteurized whole milk again – it tastes so much better! I want unpasteurized butter again too. I drank wonderful Jersey milk from my grandfather’s cows, but now all you can see in dairy herds are Holsteins. Why? The government decided Jerseys and Guernseys produced too much cream. They are an old, old breed of cattle, and produce by far the best milk. But Nanny Government says “no.” – and you have the hybrid Holsteins, a far inferior, watery milk. I hope Farmer Schmidt wins. Oh, I really, really do.
Fascism?? Europeans have been producing raw milk products safely for centuries. Why is it illegal here?