Michael Schmidt of Glencolton Farms in Ontario was in a battle with government health officials for the life of his sustainable farm. This month, January 26, 2009, he goes to trial on 20 criminal counts. His crime? Providing raw milk to the shareholders in his farm.
He delivers this milk once a week and has been doing so since 1994. On Nov. 21, 2006 his farm was raided, in the style of a drug bust, with 20 armed men from the Ministry of Natural Resources. They held him and his co-workers in confinement for nearly 7 hours, if someone needed a washroom an officer went with them and stood outside the door until they came back out and then escorted them back to the confinement area. The driveway was blocked by police cars so no one was able to leave, even though in court today the Ministry officials maintained that the farm people were free to go during that time. The trial is expected to go on for the next 6 days. The cow share owners and Michael maintain that the right to choose the food they eat is guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution, and the second half of the trial will focus on this issue. The families maintain that their health has much improved since drinking raw milk and consuming the products that can be made out of raw milk. None of them have ever been sick in all the years since 1994; The unpasteurized saga of the Durham farmer charged with distributing raw milk a year ago ended Jan 26th 2010 when a Newmarket court found him not guilty of 19 charges. Justice of the Peace Paul Kowarsky ruled that 55-year-old Michael Schmidt’s cow co-op does not violate Ontario’s public health or milk-marketing regulations. While it is legal to consume raw milk, selling or distributing it is not. Schmidt, who represented himself, argues that since people buy shares of the farm and pay maintenance fees in exchange for the milk, he’s technically not selling the milk. Schmidt’s supporters surrounded him when he walked out of the courthouse and was handed a glass of his own milk to celebrate. “We want to be responsible for our food,” he told the Star. “Standing up for basic rights is a moral obligation, and that’s what we did. I could not have done this alone.” The court upheld current legislation, though it will be interesting to read the next chapter in this straight-from-the-earth au naturel food tale.
The distinguished Saskatchewan activistfarmerPercy Schmeiser will give
a talk on
"Food Safety , GMO's and Environmental Law"
at VancouverUnityChurch,
5840 Oak st,on Saturday,February 6.
Doors open at 7PM
We will also be auctioning off
some gift certificates generously donated by Mountain Equipment Coop to support
the Legal defense funds of Percy Schmeiser and On the Range Farms, a private Raw Dairy cooperative in Chilliwack that is
currently in the midst of a court challenge from the Fraser Valley Health
authority.
The advance ticket price of
$19 plus tax has been extended to Friday, February 5. $25 plus tax at the
door.Tickets are available in Vancouver at People's Coop
bookstore at 1391 Commercial Ave.,
Gorilla Food, Unity Yoga , Ayurveda Caper's Whole Foods and Banyen Bookstore.
Please see the website www.biofield.ca for the
location of other ticket sellers in the Vancouver
suburbs.
Michael Schmidt of 
