posted on January 27, 2009

Raw milk saga heads back to court

Farmer to argue forcing him to pasteurize milk is a violation of his constitutional rights

By: Megan Ogilvie
Published: January 25 2009
Source: Toronto Star

The ongoing fight over the right to drink raw milk will fire up again in a Newmarket court tomorrow.

Dairy farmer Michael Schmidt will defend himself against charges for allegedly dispensing milk straight from the cow. In Canada, it is illegal to sell or distribute unpasteurized milk, which health officials consider a health hazard.

The defiant farmer, who operates an organic farm with 30 Canadienne cows in Durham, Ont., maintains he is not breaking the law and says he only provides milk to the cow's owners, who pay $3 a litre to board their animals at his farm. The prohibition on raw milk does not apply to farmers and Schmidt's co-operative venture, set up to skirt the law, will be at the centre of this trial.

Schmidt, who faces 20 charges under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Milk Act, plans to argue current laws around mandatory pasteurization are unconstitutional. He says the government is violating his – and the cow-share owners' – personal freedom by preventing him from selling milk straight from the cow.

"It is definitely a Charter argument," Schmidt told the Star from his home office at his Glencolton Farms. "It is infringing on the people's right who want to have unaltered milk."

The province, however, maintains the Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Milk Act are constitutional.

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