Here’s further evidence that B.C. media continue to take a keen interest in all things raw milk. The following is an excerpt from a story in today’s Chilliwack Times by Paul Henderson:
Alice Jongerden (right) on the Schmidt farm
“Chilliwack dairy farmer Alice Jongerden made a recent trip to the raw milk mecca of Durham, Ont. where farmer Michael Schmidt operates Glencolton Farms.
Jongerden runs Home on the Range, a raw milk dairy in Chilliwack that has received significant attention in recent months as health authorities attempt to shut it down.
Jongerden made the trip to Schmidt’s 150-cow operation to see how his cowshare co-operative works.
“I also wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth the legal challenges he has faced, and how they compare(d) to what we have been facing,” she told the Times in an e-mail. “Also, as we are planning some restructuring, I felt it best to see from another perspective before moving forward.”
Schmidt was most recently in the news in January when an Ontario court found him not guilty of 19 charges relating to selling unpasteurized milk.
Raw, or unpasteurized, milk is legal to drink but illegal to sell in Canada.
Jongerden, like Schmidt, operates on the cow share principal and, notwithstanding their claims that raw milk is not only safe but healthier than pasteurized dairy products, they both claim the backlash has nothing to do with health or safety.
“[T]his is clearly an issue about property rights, and not about milk or health, etc.,” Jongerden said. “We continue to provide the same service now for the members as we have done from the beginning.”
In March, a B.C. Supreme Court justice ordered Home on the Range to “cease and desist” packaging and distributing raw milk produced for the 400 shareholders. Gordon Watson a shareholder and long-time raw milk advocate filed an appeal to the B.C. Supreme Court ruling.
Since then, Jongerden has continued to care for the cows and ensure co-operative members “receive their dividends, their property.”…”
The Bovine 