“Hunger strike a needless waste of energy for raw milk crusader” — Owen Sound Sun Times slags farmer Michael Schmidt’s latest raw milk “crusade”

From Jim Algie in the Owen Sound Sun Times:

The raw milk crusader, Michael Schmidt, talks to a reporter following the April 2011 appeal hearings that recently reversed his acquittal on 15 raw milk charges.

“There may be a legal way to challenge Ontario’s raw milk ban after all — just not the method used by Michael Schmidt.

That theme provides an interesting subtext to a recent Ontario Court of Justice decision in Schmidt’s long battle to open a legitimate niche for raw milk in Canada. A Grey County dairy farmer for more than 25 years and an intriguing character for many reasons, Schmidt has pushed his raw milk crusade well beyond what most of us would consider sensible. Recently he announced he’ll pursue a hunger strike to protest his legal situation, which seems daunting on its surface.

Quite apart from the potential health risks involved for such a fascinating individual as Michael is — he is a notable musician and all-round champion of rural culture — his hunger strike seems a needless waste of energy. It also seems beside the point that I think he wants to make in what has been a highly public 15-year-long dispute. This seems particularly so when the recent decision of Mr. Justice Peter D. Tetley in Schmidt’s case provides a relatively detailed road map for lifting some of Ontario’s raw milk sanctions.

Sir Julian Rose writes a letter of support for Michael Schmidt, who is now on day 12 of his hunger strike for food freedom

Via Kimberly Hartke, on her “Hartke is Online” blog:

“Canadian Farmer Michael Schmidt is on day 12 of a Hunger Strike protesting Health Canada’s prosecution of him for serving the needs of his fellow citizens by operating a shareholder dairy. Today, Hartke is Online! is launching a Letters to Michael campaign. We are asking our readers to send letters of support to Michael, in care of this blog. The letters will be posted here and then forwarded to Canadian media editors and reporters in hopes of garnering support for Michael, who is now facing criminal  penalties and large fines over his raw milk.  Our first letter is from a raw milk freedom fighter from the United Kingdom, Sir Julian Rose.

In Defense of Real Food

A Guest Blog and Open Letter by Sir Julian Rose

Dear Michael,

I, and many other sympathisers, extend our full support to you and to your colleagues in the United States who are putting up such a courageous stand on behalf of a sane approach to human nutrition and simple, honest food.

We are living through a critical time. The food chain is already close to being high-jacked by corporate interests abetted by blinkered government officials who pronounce ‘dead food’ as the only ‘safe food’. By this analysis we should all be subjected to a lifeless, irradiated and even nanotech diet – in order not to have to face the risk of eating anything that might express the ways of nature.

Raw milk information night October 19th, 7 pm in New Westminster, B.C.

From Gordon Watson in Vancouver:

Wednesday evening  October 19^th 2011  doors open at 7 pm

at the Sapperton Pensioners’  Hall   318 Keary Street, New Westminster. Free admission

This coming Wednesday, for about an hour, starting at 7:20 pm, I’ll be giving a bit of an update to do with raw milk continuing to be available in British Columbia.

In a nutshell : the ruling in Ontario,  in which the Court ruled against raw milk dairy farmer Michael Schmidt, does not change our situation here in BC. REAL MILK is still flowing within the ‘Our Cows’ cowshare.