It's about more than raw milk

After a 37-day hunger strike, Michael Schmidt was finally given an opportunity to speak with our Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty. This meeting ended his hunger strike and although it did not change the policy about the right to sell or provide raw milk, it was a step in the right direction.
Michael Schmidt is a biodynamic farmer. He operates a beautiful farm with gardens, animals, community space and a 'cow share' program.
The cow share gives people access to raw, unpasteurized milk. Health Canada requires that all milk sold to consumers be pasteurized for reasons of health and safety. Any food that is processed on a large scale is susceptible to contamination and could provide a risk to consumers. Take the Maple Leaf listeriosis crisis in 2009, it is difficult to have controls over food safety when the quantity of food going through the system is on a large scale.
The difference is that Michael's cow share program is on a scale that is manageable and safe. Recently, on a tour of his property, he explained that he has no interest in having more than 80 cows on his farm. This is all his cow share and his property can handle. Biodynamic farming considers the farm as a living system. There is a balance between the number of people, animals and acres that occupy that space.
With 80 cows, give or take, Michael and his family and staff can safely produce raw milk for themselves and the cow share members. Members, keep in mind, that CHOOSE raw milk over pasteurized. One share member tells me that her husband and daughter are diagnosed 'lactose intolerant' by the medical system but both of them consume raw milk with no side effects. So is it a matter of 'lactose intolerance' or pasteurization intolerance?
Raw milk is a whole food, it is unadulterated and those who can tolerate milk get far more health benefit from it than the processed version.
At a lecture held in Toronto Michael explains that raw milk never goes off. First it is fresh milk, if left on the counter for a few days it turns to sour milk, then yogurt, then sour cream... and so on. There is great tradition and wisdom in the souring and fermenting of milk products.
Over the past decade Michael estimates that he has produced 500,000 glasses of raw milk and no one has been reported sick. You can't say that about the conventional, government regulated food system.
Michael's battle over the right to choose raw milk is about more than milk, it's about choice, period. Whether or not you drink milk or ever intend to access raw milk, this is a story we should all be following and supporting. If it were not for people like Michael who stand up for what they believe in and more importantly against the injustices in our so-called democratic system, we would have less headway in expressing to the government that we all have a voice and we deserve to be heard.
As a Holistic Nutritionist I believe we get the most benefit from whole foods, foods in their most original form, foods that do not have labels to read. If we begin to lose access to whole foods, we will begin to lose access to our health. Michael is what I consider a 'food hero' and he speaks for all of us whether we realize it or not. 

The documentary about Michael called "MILK WAR" won an award from the James Beard Foundation.
http://www.ichannel.ca/milk-war/about-milk-war/