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Ontario farmer not guilty of selling raw milk
Last Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2010 | 1:36 PM ET
The Canadian Press
An Ontario farmer who operates a raw milk co-op was found not guilty Thursday of
19 charges related to selling unpasteurized milk.
Michael Schmidt, from Durham, Ont.,
defended himself in 2009 against the charges for dispensing milk straight from the
cow.
While raw milk is legal to drink, it's illegal to sell in Canada.
Schmidt's legal
battles sparked a heated debate over the safety of raw milk. Advocates have extolled
its flavour and health benefits, while health officials and the province's milk marketing
board, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, have argued raw milk isn't fit for widespread
distribution.
The farmer argued the charges laid against him under the Health Protection and Promotion
Act and the Milk Act are unconstitutional and infringe on his rights and freedoms.
Schmidt
operates a 150-cow share raw milk co-operative venture, which allows members to own
a portion of the cow to acquire raw milk.
At trial in Newmarket, Ont., earlier in
the week, Schmidt argued that government officials and food scientists cannot guarantee
the safety of any food, and suggested informed consumers should be able to buy raw
milk.
Schmidt has stood by his actions since health officials carried out an armed
raid of his farm in November 2006 and seized his milking equipment.
"The rich and
sweet taste of unpasteurized milk would blow most people away," Schmidt has said.
"I bet that 90 per cent of the people who would have the choice by blind tasting
would all go for raw milk because that is the taste of milk and not what you buy
on the shelf."
A private member's resolution to create an all-party task force to
examine the issues surrounding raw milk was debated but not passed in the Ontario
legislature on Dec. 7.
Ministry reviewing court's decision acquitting raw milk distributor
By Nelson Zandbergen - AgriNews Staff Writer
CHESTERVILLE - The headline-grabbing court victory for a Durham-area dairyman who may have found an end run around the milk supply management system is now under review by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affair, which isn't ready to say if it will concede or appeal the Jan. 21 decision.
In a Newmarket courtroom, Justice of the Peace Paul Kowarsky acquitted Michael Schmidt on all charges brought against him by OMAFRA and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care -after a three-year legal fight over the distribution of unpasteurized milk to 150 members of Schmidt's cow-share operation at Glencolton Farms.
OMAFRA spokesman Brent Ross said the province hasn't determined if it will contest the decision in the Ontario Court of Appeal. "Right now, the government is reviewing the [lower] court's decision and we're trying to determine next steps, and we have 30 days to decide whether we're going to appeal," Ross said Jan. 22. "No decision has been made at this point," he emphasized