Raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt defies the authorities and his friends to push ahead with his hunger strike

From David E. Gumpert on The Complete Patient blog yesterday:

Photo of Michael Schmidt from The Complete Patient blog.

“Michael Schmidt reports that he continues to work full time at his Ontario raw dairy farm, despite having gone 14 days without food, the last seven on just water.

When he’s not working the farm, he’s busy speaking at the growing number of demonstrations springing up across Canada in support of him and his hunger strike.

Yesterday, he spoke at a rally in front of a local public health department. As he and supporters passed out raw milk to about 120 supporters, two public health workers appeared and took a glass inside the building, Schmidt told me (and as reported on The Bovine blog). A Canadian paper has subsequently reported that Schmidt could face new charges in connection with passing out raw milk. 

National Farmers Union supports raw milk advocate at Owen Sound rally

From Agri-Media.ca:

Sean McGivern speaks at Michael Schmidt's Grey Bruce Health Unit rally.

“The Grey County local of the National Farmers Union helped organise a protest in Owen Sound yesterday.

About a hundred people rallied at the Grey Bruce Health Unit headquarters in support of raw milk activist Michael Schmidt.

Grey NFU President Sean McGivern says drinking raw milk is an issue of freedom of choice.

Quality Food Availability: What YOU Can Do to Make a Difference!

Talking to the media is just one of the many ways people can make their voices heard on the subject of food rights.

From Beverley Viljakainen:

Since the Ontario government won its appeal that reversed the former ruling about cow share members’ right to obtain raw milk products, many of us have been considering how best to proceed.  From the beginning, to those of us who have followed closely, this hasnot been about milk or even health, but about our right to contract with farmers directly in order to acquire their produce in exchange for providing them with their livelihood. By doing so, we are taking responsibility for our own health by making informed choices, as well as ensuring that our local economies become more sustainable and secure.

It would now appear that, in Ontario, we are at a significant turning point in the campaign for food freedom that has its counterparts throughout the world.  Given the recent appeal ruling that suggests that we do not have the right to foods of our choice, including farm-fresh milk, it is vital that our elected officials are made more aware of what this actually means. And they need to hear it from us because their big business, big pharma and illness care advisors are not primarily concerned with health and local economies. If rising figures of 50-80% of the provincial budget going to so-called health care are not setting off alarm bells, how can we not put our heads together and figure out how best to turn this mess around? If our governments sanction the sale of all manner of products known to compromise human health, why are they so bent on demonizing a nutrition-rich food product that has done no harm when properly produced? Add to this a recent TV public health advertisement asserting that “Immunizations are critical to human health” and we have to ask where our officials would put healthy living, wholesome food and strong immune systems in their overall understanding of human health.  How do they think our ancestors, and theirs, got us here?