Public health expert overstates safety of pasteurization for milk — The Londoner

From Joshua Freeman in The Londoner:

A raw deal?
London woman says people should be allowed to buy raw milk

By Joshua Freeman

Pam Killeen enjoys a raw milk smoothie outside her home in London.. The activist is trying to rally support for her friend, farmer Michael Schmidt, who is on a hunger strike to protest the fact that it's illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Canada. JOSHUA FREEMAN/ LONDONER/QMI AGENCY

“…. [Pam] Killeen says there are at least 300 people in London who regularly consume raw milk and that interest is growing.

“I’m part of a raw milk community in London,” she says. “Most people in this city don’t know a lot about food in general. I had to get very sick before I started to research the lack of quality in our food system today.”

Killeen says she suffered from chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities for more than a decade before she started changing her diet to rest on natural, nutrient-dense foods.

Moreover, she says Canada is one of the only advanced countries in the world where it’s actually illegal to sell raw milk.

Hunger striker (Michael Schmidt) eases back slowly into eating again

From Susan Mann, in Better Farming:

“Durham-area farmer Michael Schmidt says he hasn’t eaten solid food yet despite ending his hunger strike after meeting with Premier Dalton McGuinty at Queen’s Park Friday morning.

That’s because he has to ease his body back gradually. “I’m just on broth, just liquids to get my body back into motion,” he says, noting it’ll be another five to seven days before he can start eating solid foods.

Schmidt lost 50 pounds since beginning his hunger strike Sept. 29 to protest his recent conviction on charges related to selling and distributing unpasteurized milk. Ontario Court of Justice Peter Tetley handed down his verdict Sept. 28 convicting Schmidt of charges that Justice of the Peace Paul Kowarsky acquitted him of in 2010.

Michael Schmidt sentencing Nov. 25th

This just in from Michael’s lawyer, Karen Selick:

Raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt with lawyer Karen Selick of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, seen here at a Queen's Park news conference from February 2010

The sentencing hearing for Michael Schmidt will take place on Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

Raw milk restrictions seen as “not always a bad thing” in Brantford Expositor; Margo’s reply

From Jim Merriam in the Brantford Expositor:

“The Grey Bruce Health Unit has been engaged in hand-to-hand combat with raw milk fanatic Michael Schmidt for many years.

The unit is responsible for an area that includes Glencolton Farms, Schmidt’s milk-producing enterprise near the southwestern Ontario town of Durham.

The health unit is awaiting advice on how to proceed with new charges against Schmidt, who distributed raw milk at a public rally outside the health unit building early in October.