Canadian farmer vows to continue providing customers with raw milk despite order

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 

A Canadian farmer has announced that he will continue to provide his customers with raw milk despite the fact that courts have ordered him to stop providing his customers with the product.

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized
Image: Kyle May.

"Yes, we will continue with what we're doing," he said, after being ordered by the courts to stop selling the product. He made these comments while drinking a glass of milk.

By refusing to obey the demands of the court, Michael Schmidt, the farmer involved, faces charges of contempt of court.

Raw milk is banned in Canada, as it can carry infections such as E. coli, salmonella and Listeria. Schmidt insists, however, that none of his customers have ever suffered from infections as a result of his milk, despite the fact that he has been in the business of selling it for over twenty years.

Supporters of the right to consume raw milk argue that it has large health benefits and a much better taste. "The rich and sweet taste of unpasteurized milk would blow most people away," claimed Schmidt. "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."

Schmidt also argued that his civil disobedience was a good way to change a law which he believes to be unjust. "When Gandhi picked up the salt, he kept marching, and when Martin Luther King, Jr. started the Montgomery bus strike, he kept going until the law was changed," he explained.

Sources

• Clint Thomas. "Ontario farmer prosecuted for selling raw milk says he will not stop" — Yahoo! News, October 20, 2008
• "Ontario farmer convicted in raw-milk trial, seeks maximum penalty" — CBC News, October 20, 2008