You can't stop the raw milk, activist says

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Raw milk farmer Schmidt goes to court tomorrow on contempt of court charges, but says his unpasteurized milk operations will continue even if he's jailed.

Mr. Schmidt admits his "cow-share" co-operation has continued producing unpasteurized milk for its clients despite a court order prohibiting it until his January, 2009, trial on charges of violating health laws."[Health authorities] don't realize that the whole thing is a cooperative structure so even if they jail me the whole thing keeps going anyhow – the milk keeps flowing," Mr. Schmidt said today. "I don't think [a potential sentence] will do anything unless they want to bulldoze the farm down."Owning a cow and drinking its unpasteurized milk is legal in Ontario, but selling that "raw" milk is banned under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. Mr. Schmidt has operated a "cow-share" system since 1994 in Grey county, two hours northwest of Toronto, whereby clients can obtain raw milk and other dairy products by purchasing a cow or a share in a cow, and paying Mr. Schmidt for the cow's upkeep and milking."Anybody can [legally] own a cow and start milking the cow," he said. "But then there's families that live in a high-rise in Toronto or a condominium in Toronto – they cannot do that. We are providing the service for people that cannot keep a cow, because they cannot get it up the elevator." In November, 2006, the Ministry of Natural Resources, together with Grey Bruce Health Services, brought charges against Mr. Schmidt for operating a raw milk dairy, allegedly in violation of Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act. "The basic concern is that [raw milk] can cause illness," said Munn, director of public health for Grey Bruce Health Services. "It's usually a food poisoning thing where there'd be vomiting and diarrhea, and in some cases the whole lining of the intestine can be inflamed and actually sloughs right off." Last year, York Region Public Health applied for – and was granted – an Ontario Superior Court order requiring Mr. Schmidt to cease and desist his raw milk operations. The court today will decide whether or not Mr. Schmidt is in contempt of court for allegedly violating that court order. Mr. Munn said there are no clear numbers for raw milk food poisoning in Ontario or Canada because of under-reporting. Most cases, he said, occur in farming families.But Mr. Schmidt said that in his 34 years of raw milk operations, no client has reported a case of food poisoning.His 160 clients range from families with young kids right through to gourmet chefs – all of whom have made a "conscious choice" to consume raw milk, he said. His waiting list for clients, he said, is three years long."I think it's one of these basic human rights that people should be able to make a decision about what is right for their body," he said

By Wagler, National Post.

Photo of Schmidt by Merle Robillard for National Post