Raw Milk Freedom Fighters...gaining speed.

By  Donna OShaughnessy  AKA The Midlife Farmwife

Later today our own Zan Asha will be interviewing Michael Schmidt who in late September was found guilty by the Ontario Court of Justice of 15 charges related to producing and distributing unpasteurized milk, which is banned in Canada. This is an interview NOT to be missed.

While he waits to hear his sentence in the case, Schmidt began a hunger strike in the hopes of being granted a meeting with the newly re-elected Ontario premier. Mr. Schmidt is now on day 31 of his hunger strike. I, for one, am greatly looking forward to hearing this modern day crusader speak of his convictions, the trials he and his family have endured all for the sake of freedom in regards to raw milk.

Schmidt is not alone in this fight. Many groups in our own country have taken to the blog waves, myself included, the newspapers, the radio, community gatherings and even well organized protests as they verbalize their strong beliefs in regard to raw milk sales and consumption. One such group, the Raw Milk Freedom Riders http://www.rawmilkfreedomriders.com/ identifies themselves as a

"Caravan of mothers defy FDA interstate commerce and food safety law on raw milk in support of farmers across the nation willing to supply fresh milk to mothers across state lines risking their business to serve their customers."




















The Caravan will cross from PA into Maryland on Route 1 on Nov. 1st, where they will meet at the FDA Headquarters 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD. There they will join with numerous other raw milk activists and dairy farmers such as Max Kane, Joel Salatin, Mark McAfee, David Gumpert,  Liz Reitzig and of course Michael Schmidt.

Another woman, Kristen Canty, turned her quest to find healthy food for her four children into an educational journey to discover why access to these foods was being so heavily regulated and in many cases prohibited. The resulting film, Farmageddon,  tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action  by agents of misguided government bureaucracies.

With all this activity going on I find it hard to believe that people will still comment,  "It's only milk" wondering to themselves and to others, "What is the big deal?"

The big deal is the slow but steady invasion of the government into our farms, our kitchens and our lives without our request for them to do so. The big deal is,  if we dismiss the raw milk movement we also dismiss other areas of small farm endangerment such as the National Animal Identification Act which is once again building speed as we sit on on comfy couches and ponder the silliness of those "milk radicals". The big deal is that freedoms are eroded quietly and one by one, and because we too often stand still those freedoms become more vulnerable to capture and destruction.

On our own small farm here in Central Illinois I have been attempting to make changes in an archaic raw milk law which allows under the department of Public Health the sale of raw milk directly off the farm but prohibits the advertising of this raw milk. http://midlifefarmwife.blogspot.com/  After numerous phone calls the last two weeks to uncover the source and origin of these restrictions, I was met with the usual double talk and pass the buck actions one often runs into when they attempt getting answers from government offices. Passed from one Division Chief to another, I am no closer to having real answers than I was three weeks ago.

But I will persist. It is in no way as brave an action as say Michael Schmidt's hunger strike, Kristin Canty's film making, Max Kane's You-Tube recording of his recent FDA phone calls or Joel Salatins' numerous books on the topic but it is what I can do at this moment.

What can you do to secure the freedoms in your country, your state, your county?