Saying he is only trying to sell people what they want, the key figure in a long-standing legal battle over the right to sell unpasteurized milk spoke to supporters during a meeting in Guelph recently.
Michael Schmidt — a dairy farmer at the centre of the discussion regarding the consumption and sale of raw milk in Ontario — will once again face the courts after being served two injunctions.
Schmidt took part in the Raw Milk Symposium 2016, held January 30 at Guelph University, with an audience of more than 100 people — mostly advocates of raw milk consumption.
It is not illegal in Ontario to consume raw milk, but sale and distribution have been prohibited in the province since 1938.
The injunctions against Schmidt are the latest in an ongoing 22-year legal battle between the Durham, Ontario-based dairy farmer and the province.
Schmidt questions the logic of the government once again targeting his operation.
“Every time they came with a legal challenge or raid, it increased the demand for raw milk — every time. So I don’t understand why they do it,” he said.
The symposium’s panel discussion included four advocates for raw milk consumption — and one local university professor who offered an opposing view.
“It was a tough room today,” said Dr. Art Hill, chair of the Department of Food Science at the university.
Hill, whose expertise centres on dairy, said he is not entirely against the idea of raw milk sale and consumption — but would like to see science play a larger role in the discussion.
The professor cited many cases in recent years in which people who consumed raw milk were made ill or died.
“If you are going to sell raw milk, lets try and give you the best science we can and communicate where some of the risks are,” he said.
Hill noted most of the purported health benefits of drinking raw milk are anecdotal, and not supported by scientific evidence.
Schmidt counters that some research the government receives on the issue — including some from the University of Guelph — is funded in part by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
“We are fighting a multi-billion dollar industry,” said Schmidt.
“Even if I don’t believe there is a big health benefit, there certainly are economic reasons to do this,” said Hill, who added the sale of organics has a six-percent marketshare in the U.S. — and growing.
Keynote speaker Mark McAfee, founder and CEO of McAfee Farms and Organic Pastures Dairy Company, spoke about his operation in California — where there is more government support for selling raw milk.
McAfee said his dairy supplies 700 retail outlets with 100,000 customers consuming the unpasteurized product weekly.
He took exception to the examples Hill gave during the panel discussion.
“What we saw Dr. Hill do is chronicle the last 10 years of every kid who got sick from raw milk in the world. What he did not do is chronicle all of the kids who got sick or died from pasteurized milk — which is a lot,” said McAfee.
He appreciated Hill’s insight into food safety, saying they are on the same page on that issue.
“I think we saw some good light through a cracked door. Safety is absolutely imperative,” said McAfee.
Attendees heard Canada is one of the few countries in which there is a ‘zero-risk’ policy toward raw milk distribution — in some European countries, for instance, raw milk can be purchased from vending machines.
Panel member Nadine Iljaz, who is currently completing a PhD at the University of Toronto, said evidence shows a greater risk of becoming sick from food-based pathogens found in items such as bagged salad or hamburger meat.
Phil Caranci, who was in attendance and participates in a farm co-operative which offers raw milk, said the issue for him is his family’s right to consume whole foods.
“We do what we feel is right. We want the freedom to choose how our family is fed and how nutrition is brought into our home,” said Caranci.
He questions why he is prohibited from purchasing raw milk due to the risks associated with consuming it, while some other people can choose to eat fast food or smoke cigarettes, despite known health risks.
“I’m not saying I am against what they do — it’s their choice. But if they have the choice to make those decisions, we should have the choice to make our decisions,” said Caranci.
He plans on offering an affidavit in support of Schmidt’s upcoming proceedings.
Glencolton Farms, which is operated by Schmidt, has been raided three times since 2006 by police and inspectors from various government agencies.
The most recent raid was last October, in which 50 co-operative members attended in a show of support.
Schmidt said raw milk consumers will be the driving force toward legalization.
“If the science is against us and the politicians are against us because their experts are scientists, we have the dairy lobby against us. We basically have the world against us — except the consumer,” said Schmidt.
“I am just the mediator in there, and a lightning rod. I have a big back,” he said.
