Another look at the laws about raw milk

Contrasting Ontario Laws and Acts about Raw Milk in Courts with other Major Jurisdictions (Part 2)

by Raoul Bedi, BASc

I – Introduction :

Last week we listed some of the major acts, laws and regulations being cited by Crown Lawyers in the latest manifestions, in the form of the 2 applications listed below, in the never-ending case(s) against Organic Raw Milk and its adherents, consumers, supporters, co-op members, farmers and producers in Ontario and Canada. For brevity’s sake we gave only the relevant sections from the Ontario Milk Act and Milk Regulations to begin with .

We then observed, in Newmarket Court, the Crown Lawyers for Gavin Downing, director for the Milk Act, and the York Region Municipality, systematically work through all of those major acts, one by one in great detail, stating first which sections were violated, what they say and mean, and then the evidence (from myriad affidavits, discovery and testimony) to support their claims of violation, and punishment(s) sought.

In addition to all the Acts and Regulations listed last week and again today, the Crown’s Legal team consisting of 4-5 lawyers, also cited 6-10 examples of Case Law which we will not list here. Of interest was the fact that they cited case law from England to justify the enforcement of certain bureaucratic regulations, and the need for concomitant restraining orders where they have been continually violated.

The SUPREME IRONY here is that they failed to cite the most important Laws and Statutes of all , from the United Kingdom , namely that Fresh, Organic Raw Milk from Grass-fed cows is 100% legal and freely available from Her Majesty the Queen’s homeland . Please see https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/farmingfood/dairy-guidance/rawmilkcream#toc-4

How can this be one might ask ?

Prions, organophosphates & mad cows

From Mark Purdey, in Acres USA:

ACRES U.S.A. What led you into your consideration of Mad Cow disease to your findings, which are somewhat at variance with the conventional wisdom?

PURDEY. It all started in 1984, appropriately, when I was visited by a British Ministry of Agriculture officer, who just suddenly appeared at my farm one morning and ordered me to treat my cows with these warble fly insecticides, which were systemic acting organophosphates. They came because I had fallen into a compulsory warble fly eradication zone after one of the neighboring farmers had an infestation of warble flies. But I said, look, I don’t want to use the systemic organophosphate compounds; my cattle haven’t got warbles, anyway; and I accused them of acting illegally, saying that they had no legal right to force farmers to use a chemical dressing, particularly one that belonged to a toxic organophosphate group. Largely my refusal to use these chemicals on my cows was based on intuition at that time, but as I started studying the science, I very rapidly realized that these chemicals were derived from military nerve gasses.

Hunger is no game for poor in Britain

Is this how “the system” uses the seemingly impartial objectivity of economics to put the screws to what the elite may regard as “useless eaters”? From The Independent:

The Hunger Games book

“Evidence is mounting that thousands of children in the UK are not getting enough food to eat – and that, as financial hardship spreads, their numbers are increasing rapidly. Chris is 10. He and his brother are so malnourished that their skins are pale and they have rings under their eyes. Their older brothers have such an unhealthy diet that they have lost their adult teeth. They live in the sixth-richest city in the world – London.

The boys are just four among thousands of Britain’s hungry children – victims of a “silent epidemic” of malnutrition in the capital and beyond….”

UK considers revising raw milk rules

From Food Safety News:

“…England and Wales have about 100 registered cow operations selling raw milk for human consumption, as well as 27 registered producers of raw milk from goats, and three from sheep.

Not since 2002 have any of those raw milk producers had a product associated with an outbreak of illness. In the 10 years prior to 2002, there were 20 outbreaks — mostly of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium  DT12 — which sickened 242 people and sent 36 to hospitals. There were no deaths.

Except for Scotland — where all raw milk sales are banned, the UK limits sales to the farm where raw milk is produced.   

Raw milk controversy reaching England

From Lucy Siegl in The Guardian:

“Raw milk is hot right now, feted by fans for its “cow to cup” direct supply chain. Of course the milk itself never gets hot at all. Unlike “normal” milk, which is heated to 72C to achieve pasteurisation, raw milk remains steadfastly unpasteurised. Naturally, shunning the pathogen-busting work of Louis Pasteur it’s a controversial tipple.

But it is a relatively low-emissions drink compared to conventional milk (although it should be noted that all animal-based products have a substantial footprint). Unlike the 13bn litres of normal milk processed each year by three main processors in 100 sites across the UK, this raw milk is not pre-chilled, siloed, separated, homogenised, pasteurised and refrigerated before being trucked to retailers.

They want to ban raw milk in England

From Rose Prince in The Telegraph (UK):

Click image above to go to The Telegraph UK website

“Those of us who choose to drink ”raw’’ milk are a tiny minority – barely more than 100,000 – so why is time and money being wasted trying to stop us?

The latest attempt is launched by Dairy UK, the association representing the producers and processors of 85 per cent of the milk sold in Britain. Dairy UK has demanded that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) ban the sale of unpasteurised milk, citing food safety and the “safe image of dairy products”.

English dairy farmer feeds badgers supplements to prevent Bovine TB

From Stuart Winter on the Express.co.uk

Badgers, like the one shown above, are due to be shot in a cull ordered by the Government n an attempt to halt bovine TB. Photo via the Express.co.uk news website

FARMER Dick Roper has vowed not to shoot badgers on his land but to feed them a daily dose of health supplements to prevent the spread of a deadly disease hitting dairy herds.

Badgers are due to be shot in a cull ordered by the Government in an attempt to halt bovine tuberculosis but Mr Roper says his idea of feeding badgers vitamins and essential minerals keeps the disease at bay.

Status symbol front lawns questioned

“Bankers and politicians turn food in a betting game” — says The Guardian

From Aditya Chakrabortty, writing for The Guardian:

“The best kind of argument is one where you already know you’re right, which must be what draws in so many people to the row over record food prices. What other issue allows the techno-nuts to bang on about the need for GM crops, the population drones to point out for the nine-billionth time the growing number of mouths to feed in the world, or my comrades on the left to have another go at big bad agribusiness – all at the same time? Some of these points are worth airing; the surging cost of bread or beef around the world is unlikely to have just one cause. But the overriding feature of this debate is how few of the participants feel the need to do any more than dust off their hobby horses.

Meanwhile, at the risk of sounding crass, around a billion people – one in seven of the world’s population – go to bed hungry every night.

London England grocery store chickens also loaded with dangerous pathogens

From Bill Marler’s blog:

Tesco is one of the English supermarket chains cited in this study. Photo from LIFE. Click image to see source.

“The Tests – According to tests on 20 grocery store chickens, picking up a package of chicken in Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco could put you at risk of food poisoning. E. coli was found on one of the chickens from Sainsbury’s.

Staphylococcus aureus, an MRSA-related bacteria that can cause wound infections, was found on a sample from Asda.

Acinetobacter baumannii, which also causes serious wound infections, was found on one chicken from Asda and two from Marks & Spencer. Proteus mirabilis, which can cause urinary tract infections, was found on chickens from Asda, Tesco and Morrisons, and high levels of Micrococcus luteus, which also causes urinary tract infections, were found on a sample from Tesco….”