Below is a letter I received from my friend Treasa O'Driscol. It is in reference to our mutual friend Michael Schmidt, he of safe raw milk fame. Michael has had a thirty year fight with the government and the milk powers for his right to farm and produce raw, unpasteurized, yet safe milk. Anyone who has been to his farm can attest to the fact that Michael tends to his farm and animals in a loving and holistic fashion. The farm is as clean as I could ever imagine a farm to be and he cares for the animals by name. The milk is produced by hand, is clearly pure, clean and good for you. It tastes quite unlike the pasteurized stuff we are used to! Having won many battles, it seemed the tide was turning in his favour, but more recently things have gone against his right to distribute raw milk-- and let's be clear this is not even to the public at large, rather to people, knowing the issues, who have invested in become cow share members. They own a share in a cow and are thus receiving milk from an animal they own already. As such, Michael Schmidt’s cow-share program is not a national health threat. The milk that he and others consume doesn’t go into the main food system. It is available only to his cow share members.
Maybe there was a time when pasteurization was necessary, but we should all have the right to choose.
A reader commented on The Bovine site, Michael Schmidt’s WordPress blog, that if it’s legal to buy all sorts of raw foods: beef, pork, chicken, sushi and raw vegetables (which we know, of late, can be contaminated with e-coli or other organisms) as well as PRODUCTS THAT ARE KNOWN TO BE HARMFUL TO HEALTH such as alcohol, tobacco and over-the-counter drugs — then WHY is it illegal for people to drink milk from a cow-share?
Well, those are the raw facts. (Sorry!) But the issue has taken an even more serious turn. Michael wants to have a dialogue with Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, on the issue of food freedom and is willing to fight to achieve such. How Michael has chosen to fight is significant-- he has gone on hunger strike! He has consumed only water for 30 days now and is very weak. McGuinty seems to be taking no notice, but he can't ignore the many people who care about Michael and support his cause and the cause of freedom in general.
I am scared we might lose Michael. He is a unique and important voice in life and it is no small thing he does to be willing to die for what he believes in and for which he has fought so hard.
We could all contact Dalton McGunity.
Here is a link:
https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/en/feedback/default.aspx
or
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Roon 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Tel.: 416-325-1941
Fax: 416-325-3745
Michael, friend, we are thinking of you and support you!
Kevin
October 28, 2011Dear friend of Michael Schmidt,
I spoke to Michael today and let him know that Barrie MPP, Rodney Jackson, has joined a newly formed bipartisan committee of Provincial MPPs that includes Randy Hillier, Greg Sorbara, Jack McLaren, John O'Toole and others. They are determined to persuade the Premier to concede to Farmer Schmidt's request for dialogue. They realise that Michael Schmidt's hunger strike is a matter of concern to a growing number of representatives from every party, much talked about in the corridors of power where many agree that Michael's stance is indicative of the much larger issue of Food Freedom that underlies his tireless campaign for Safe Raw Milk.
Michael said he was very moved by this show of support and that it made him hopeful that "something is happening". He remains firm in his resolution to end his fast only when Dalton McGuinty indicates a willingness to enter into dialogue with him. "At issue is the need to engage the highest level of government in dialogue so that the lower bureaucratic levels can ultimately fall into line with the conclusions of an open ended, forward looking and unbiased review of the current stalemate." Dialogue is only a first step in the direction of policy making that is mindful of the best interests of all concerned-farmers, consumers and animals alike." An exchange of views may reveal that it is possible to protect the health of citizens and permit freedom of choice in food at one and the same time."
Michael Schmidt contends that food choice cannot be contemplated without reference to farmers. We know that farms are dwindling and that farmers are ageing. There is a need for new incentives and Michael approach to animal husbandry, his respect for nature and his attention to the relationship that can flourish between farmer and consumer, carries a seed of renewal that we Canadians cannot afford to dismiss. "We are cutting the branch we are sitting on," is Michael's way of putting it.
"If Dalton McGuinty wants to avoid a funeral, I want him to know that I have no conditions, in my quest for dialogue, other than a wish to focus on the following questions with a view to progressing from where we are now to where we could ideally be as a robust society":
1. How can we move to ensure that farmers are no longer persecuted through being subjected to more and more raids on their properties, to more charges being laid against them?
2. Can we work towards the formation of a task force to look at current recommendations that address the stalemate that exists with regard to Raw Milk?
3. How can the individual right to food choice be upheld when the regulatory bodies revolve around the issue of risk and of 'endangering the public'?
Sincerely,
Treasa O'Driscoll,
Novalis Project, Barrie, Ontario
