Raw milkman Michael Schmidt ready to die over spilled milk

Still defiant in the third week of his hunger strike, dairy farmer Michael Schmidt told the Toronto Star yesterday he is willing to die to defend the sale of unpasteurized milk and other products to the public. “I will go right to the end,” he said at a Queen’s Park news conference. “I wouldn’t do that if I wouldn’t have tried for the last 17 years to establish a dialogue.” Schmidt read from a letter addressed to Dalton McGuinty, promising his self-imposed starvation will continue until the premier meets with him. The Durham farmer claims he’s lost over 30 pounds during this second hunger strike, drinking only raw milk and water for 19 days (though he’s skipped the milk for the last 10). Schmidt then cranked up the dramatics: “I came from Germany,” he said. “I have seen the aftermath of a situation where people didn’t rise up when there was still time to rise up.” Say what you like about his politics and rhetoric—it’s clear the man is dead serious. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »