“Of all the G8 countries, Canada is the only one to ban the production for sale, transportation and consumption of raw milk: milk that is unpasteurized. Raw milk can contain dangerous and sometimes deadly pathogens.
In Ontario, the Milk Act has prohibited the sale of raw milk for over 26 years, though farmers are allowed to consume their own if it’s produced on their farms. Dairy farmer and raw milk advocate Michael Schmidt of Glencolton Farms, an hour’s drive south of Owen Sound, provides raw milk to over 100 consumers through a farm-share program — a means for raw milk proponents to skirt the law by owning part of the farm or the cow that produces the milk. Championing the sale of raw milk has cost Schmidt; his farm has been raided three times in the past 22 years by the Ministries of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Finance and local and provincial police.
Shifts in food culture such as locavorism, the 100 Mile Diet, Food Freedom and gut health science have spawned a growing market for raw milk — not just for Schmidt but around the world. Many proponents do not believe that raw milk produced in sanitary conditions contains dangerous pathogens and many believe consuming it has beneficial effects on their health….”
The Bovine 