Liz Reitzig shares her impressions from her recent visit to Glencolton Farms

From Liz Reitzig on the Nourishing Liberty blog:

“Perhaps it was the simplicity that made me smile. Or maybe it was the newness—I’d never heard a pre-meal blessing that was so simple. But there it was, we were all sitting around the table at Glencolton Farms saying this blessing before a steaming bowl of carrot and ginger soup topped with all the sour cream we could want. A wheel of freshly made brie and homemade rolls dripping with fresh butter and glasses full of fresh, creamy milk completed the meal. “Wow,” I thought. “Does food really get any better than this? Certainly this prayer works. We have in front of us all the goodness and abundance one could want in their food!”

Here I was, eating a meal that was produced mainly on this farm. The butter, sour cream and milk, all came from these cows. The cheese was from their milk and made right there. The bread, baked in the bakery downstairs, and the soup—made from their own carrots and chicken stock.

“VAXXED” and “the Streisand Effect”

From the Levi Quackenboss blog:

“Surely you’ve heard a few times this month that Robert De Niro deselecting Andrew Wakefield’s movie VAXXED at Tribeca was the best thing that could have ever have happened to it.  Even though De Niro was kicking himself for his knee-jerk reaction on the Today Show last week in the greatest six-and-half-minute interview of all time, no one can deny that this has turned into quite the phenomenon.

I’m not going to lie– I was momentarily devastated when I saw the news that it was pulled three weeks ago. “Pharma wins again,” I thought.  “No surprise there.” I figured that the two-day ride that the movie had at the top of Facebook’s trending news was over; VAXXED would disappear into oblivion without anyone outside of our circle ever seeing it.

NEW: Petition for Raw Milk in Canada

Via Christine Harris, on Facebook. At time of posting, it looks like there are 45 signature in all, 28 of them from Ontario. Will this be effective, or influential? Who knows? Maybe you have another idea that could contribute to moving the needle on this issue:

Official milk petition to Canadian government calling on the Canadian government to allow real, fresh milk to be regulated and available as it is in many other countries. Canadians of any age may sign. Will you take a few seconds and show your support?

500 signatures needed for the Minister of Health to look at this. Feel free to share.

Video on Real Milk – https://youtu.be/2DA_vbX_T1I

Petition to the Government of Canada
– https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details…

 

The raw milk issue in Ontario is no longer just about Michael Schmidt

In spite of the massive public profile Michael has gained over the past twenty years he has been advocating for raw milk and the freedom to choose it, the raw milk access issue in Ontario is much bigger than Michael Schmidt.

And The Bovine’s change of masthead picture reflects that reality. The young woman in the new cover picture is milking a cow in a jurisdiction where anyone can buy raw milk in a store, just like they would buy any other kind of milk. By the way, that’s in California, where Mark McAfee farms (though this picture is not from his farm).

Of course, the fact that this woman is clearly milking the cow by hand should be your first clue that this is not a commercial operation. Yes, this is taking place on a real farm which provides food (vegetables) for other people, but the cow and the milk are just for those who live on the farm and share in the work.

Notice of Comment Policy Change

If you’ve been out and about on the interwebs you may have noticed that many websites have shut down their comment sections. I’m sure there are many reasons for this development. Spam, trolls, flame wars, and the ongoing time demands of moderation are no doubt among them.

As of today, the Bovine will no longer be posting comments, except in exceptional circumstances. However, readers are still welcome to use the comment process to message the Editor. In fact, since we don’t check our email that often, “posting” a comment is probably the best way to get  a message through. Just don’t expect it to appear on the site.

If you want a public forum to discuss material which is posted on the Bovine and you don’t have your own blog or website yet, there’s always social media — ie Facebook, Twitter etc.

Thursday May 12th Next Court Date in Glencolton Farms Raw Milk Saga

April 16th had earlier been scheduled as a date to consider the question as to whether the two applications for injunctions (ie from York Region Public Health, and from the Milk Director) would be heard separately or together.

However the Glencolton legal defense team has since decided that they will consent to the request to have the two applications considered together, and thus the April 16th court date will not be needed.

All of which means that the next court date for this case will be on Thursday May 12, presumably at Newmarket Court, at 50 Eagle Street. Mark your calendar.

The main hearing of the applications is not scheduled to take place until September 26, 2016

New Video of Food Freedom Rally at Newmarket Court, March 16, 2016

From the Corporate Mystic on YouTube:

Raw Milk’s Media Shadow

Global TV Crew interviews Farmshare mom at the Newmarket rally

Here’s wondering whether at least some major media have been spoken to, either by their corporate masters, or by other shadowy figures that lurk behind the scenes and orchestrate the media circus.

Notably at the March 16th rally in Newmarket — with the biggest turnout ever of supporters and with the prospect of lots of photogenic attractions including the on-site milking of a cow, kids and families, and placards, and the prospect of raw milk facing criminalization for the first time — not many local media sent reporters or camera crews.

TVO Raw Milk Doc Now Online

In case you haven’t noticed already, the recent raw milk documentary which aired Monday March 28th, is now online for anyone to look at, anytime. Not sure how long it will be up there, so if you haven’t seen it yet, why not take a look to see what the TVO folks have made of the present raw milk situation in Ontario. Watch it here.

TVO’s description of the 15 minute raw milk mini-documentary is as follows:

“Health officials in Ontario say raw milk isn’t safe for human consumption and therefore it is illegal. Some people though, will go far to get milk that is not pasteurized. Ontario dairy farmer Michael Schmidt has been locked in a legal battle over raw milk for more than two decades. This video looks at the debate over raw milk.”

Also notable is the opportunity for comments. So far there have been two comments posted. Here’s one of them, from Kevin Moynagh: