"This isn't about the milk.."

The Province of Ontario has decided to appeal the court's decision to acquit Michael Schmidt on all charges for providing his milk share customers with raw milk.  Premier McGuinty, and the rest of his posse, have clearly shown their inability to understand the basic freedoms we, the people of this country, are entitled to.  Nanny state, indeed.

Oh well, nothing like the threat of having our choices taken away from us to really get some momentum behind a movement.  Alright Ontario, bring it on!

Premier defends appeal of raw milk ruling

Updated: Tue Feb. 16 2010 3:13:15 PM

The Canadian Press

The province is right to appeal a verdict in favour of raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt because of ongoing public health concerns, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday, while the farmer called the move another example of a government intent on interfering with personal freedoms.

"My understanding is that there's still an overwhelming consensus among medical experts that raw milk presents a real risk to public health and we feel a responsibility to take this to a higher court and give the judge there an opportunity to speak to this," McGuinty said.

The government is appealing last month's decision by a justice of the peace to dismiss 19 charges against Schmidt of violating the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

Schmidt and his supporters say the appeal amounts to persecuting a small group of individuals seeking the right to make choices without government interference.

"This raw milk debate is about basic rights, which we have lost and we are losing every time this government passes another regulation without considering the most important factors of liberty and individual rights," Schmidt said.

"People are starting to rebel against the nanny-state."

The Durham-based farmer and activist vows to fight the appeal, and isn't backing away from what he terms "the raw milk movement," despite receiving two death threats since his acquittal and being publicly assaulted.

He has formed Cow Share Canada to help establish cow-sharing guidelines, testing and inspection procedures, he said. Meanwhile, the Canadian Constitution Foundation has approached the new health minister about eventually legalizing raw milk.

The appeal, Schmidt adds, is a political rather than a scientific one.

"During the trial, they never presented any kind of research which actually proved their point ... they had no evidence to counter our claims that the milk we produce can be perfectly safe and actually has health benefits," Schmidt said.

"They take all their research based on milk which is designated for pasteurization, but never did any research on milk which is specifically produced for human consumption."

While raw milk is legal to drink, it's illegal to sell in Canada because it's considered a health hazard.

During Schmidt's trial, food scientists and health experts testified that mandatory pasteurization laws are needed to protect public health.

Schmidt argued that government officials and food scientists could not guarantee the safety of any food, and suggested informed consumers should be able to buy raw milk if they want.

The yearlong trial found Schmidt's innovative "cow-share" program for raw milk consumers -- which elicited a raid by the Ministry of Health in 2006 -- did not violate provincial laws.

Karen Selick of the Canadian Constitution Foundation said she plans to re-open the constitutional issue at the appeal and ask whether the law in itself should be challenged.

Selick said she can't understand why the province would appeal the verdict, since the original justice of the peace gave a very careful decision and made clear his ruling applied only to Schmidt.

"The optics of this appeal are very bad and, frankly, it's going to stir up another hornets' nest that could have been left undisturbed," she said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come back to bite the people who made the decision to appeal."

The appellate judge will have the option to dismiss the appeal, allow some part of it to go forward, allow a new trial, or proceed with a new trial in the appellate court, she said.

A decision isn't expected for some time.

Further reading:

• National Post: Raw Milk Farmer to Continue Fight
• The Epoch Times: The Ontario Appeal Takes Fight to 'Next Level,' Says Farmer
• The Bovine 

Victory! Michael Schmidt Found Not Guilty!

I have just returned home from Newmarket, Ontario where my daughters and I sat in on the court ruling for Michael Schmidt.  I am elated to report that Michael, biodynamic farmer, raw milk advocate extraordinaire was found not guilty!

Way to go, Michael!  Thank you for holding strong to your convictions and doing what was right, even in the face of great adversity.  What an example you are.  I know that what we witnessed in that courtroom today taught my daughters and I a profound lesson.  I can only imagine the ripple effect your courage will produce.  Michael, we raise our glasses of raw milk to you, in honour of your tireless efforts and your steadfast convictions, we thank you.  Cheers!

Today is a very good day, indeed. WooooHooooo!

CP:  Ontario Farmer Found Not Guilty of Charges Related to Selling Raw Milk
NP:  Michael Schmidt Acquitted in Raw Milk Case
Globe&Mail: Dairy Farmer Wins Battle Over Raw Milk

The Better Protein Shake

I happened upon a vending machine, the other day, with plastic bottles filled with flavoured milk.  Gross.  There were all sorts of crazy flavours, meant to make the milk look fun and exciting.  In an attempt to make their product more palatable to a generation used to highly sweetened and flavoured products, the manufacturer loaded up their ultra-pasteurized (read: ultra-dead) milk with sugars, preservatives, and chemical flavour enhancers.  What's left? Definitely nothing of nutritional value.

Years ago, in an attempt to get in some good quality protein (as the fitness industry reminds us we must do), I opted for shake after shake of whey protein.  To be sure, I bought the good stuff, high quality with no sweeteners or flavouring, but I still ended up developing intolerances to the stuff.  In retrospect, I see the folly of ingesting an extract of a whole food.  Today, we stick with whole sources of protein, complete with the entire nutritional profile inherent in that food.  I want all of it:  the vitamins, the minerals, the fat, and the high quality protein.  Everything serves a purpose.

Our oldest daughter, a competitive rower, makes herself a protein shake every morning, after her workouts.  Her immunity remains high, even when under stress from her demanding training schedule and her fitness level continues to improve at a phenomenal rate.  Most of all, she recovers very quickly from intense training.   She has been able to significantly increase her lean, muscle mass while remaining very lean.  I don't attribute all of this to her post-workout shake, what she does with her diet for the remainder of the day is way more important, but the shake is a significant boon to her recovery, giving her body just what it needs while in a depleted state (and she's running off to class).

Sunshine+grass+cow = foundation of our nutrition-dense shake.  Image: TreeHugger

I hesitate to write a recipe for the shake simply because it's not the measurements that matter most, but rather the quality of the ingredients. We blend about 1.5 cups of raw, pasture grazed milk with 3 raw eggs, some coconut oil, a few drops of vanilla, and a teaspoon of maple syrup or raw honey.  That's it. We just blend it up like that. We may, sometimes, use organic cocoa in the shake to change up the flavour.  In the summer, we might use some fruit, but in the winter, we avoid it. We also, sometimes, throw in some kefir or homemade yoghurt.

It's so easy to make and far superior to any product touting some miracle result.  The key is to find local producers that are able to provide you with nutritionally dense products from healthy animals.  I would never consume raw eggs from a grocery store, nor do I think that all raw milk is safe.  Just another reason to get out there and meet your local farmers!

Your farmer is waiting:

• Local Harvest
• CSA Farms Canada
• Eat Well Guide
• Eat Wild
• Simply 'Google' local farms/biodynamic/grass-fed/organic +farms +your local region.  Contact the farmers and ask if they would have you out to see what they're up to.  Most farmers are happy to show consumers what they are raising and producing on their land.  Some of my most cherished relationships are ones that started out with a simple farm visit.

Homemade Cream Cheese

Homemade cream cheese is so rewarding to make. It's easy, it's fast, it's pretty much 'zero' on the effort scale. Best of all, it's delicious. If you make your own yoghurt, just whip up some extra in your next batch for this recipe. If you don't make your own yoghurt, a good quality, organic, whole milk yoghurt is what you'll need to get. You should be able to find one that is not homogenized - buy that one.

It's nice to have a container of this cream cheese in your fridge. My kids like to come home from school and put a good size dollop on some celery or roll some up in a piece of meat. I just like to eat a spoonful whenever the desire so compels me.

Homemade Cream Cheese

• 1 litre of raw, pastured whole yoghurt
• cheesecloth
• sea salt

Place a sieve over a large bowl, line it with the cheesecloth (folder over a couple of times) and pour in your yoghurt. Allow to drain for a couple of hours on your countertop. After a couple of hours take a large wooden spoon (longer than the width of your bowl) and tie the cheesecloth to it tightly. Remove the sieve. Leave the yoghurt dangling above the bowl for about 6 more hours or overnight. 

You'll notice a clear liquid in the bottom of the bowl. This is the 'whey' that has separated from curd. Don't throw this away. You can put it in a jar and keep it for a couple of months. Use it to make cultured vegetables. 

When your yoghurt is done hanging about, give it a good squeeze and untie it. Scrape out the now cream cheese into a glass container, mix in a bit of sea salt to taste, and keep it covered in the fridge.  

There you have it - cream cheese without all of that chemical grossness.  In fact, what you have is a healthy cream cheese loaded with probiotic goodness. See, I told you it was easy!