ACTION ALERT - RAW MILK RAID IN CANADA

[Guest guest]

Please repost this to any Canadians that you know as well as to all

others whom would be interested.

Shan

 

Dear Members,

We are sending this important Alert to all members.  The incident has

widespread implications, not only for the raw milk movement but for the basic

right

to farm, and the outcome could affect America and other nations as well as

Canada.

 

 

BACKGROUND

On Tuesday, November 21, Glencolton Farms in Durham, Ontario, Canada was

raided by agents of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the enforcement arm of

the

Ministry of Health. The proprietor of Glencolton Farms, Michael Schmidt, has

operated a cow-share program without incident for the past eleven years.  (For

background, visit

http://realmilk.com/real-milk-canada.html .)

 

On the morning of November 21, Michael loaded up the vehicle that carries his

goods into Toronto-the famous Blue Bus that arrives at the Toronto Waldorf

School every Tuesday.  There, the shareholders line up to receive the products

of their cows. But as Michael drove out of the laneway, the bus was surrounded

by a swarm of armed Ministry of Natural Resources officers approaching from

all sides.  They presented Michael with a search warrant and, for the next seven

and a half hours, the investigators searched, questioned and confiscated.

 

The six individuals who live and/or work on the Farm were ordered to stay in

the kitchen. Visits to other areas of the house or outdoors had to be

conducted  accompanied by an officer.  Two investigators from the Ministry of

Finance

also arrived and spent several hours in the office, eventually leaving with

one computer hard drive, its monitor and keyboard, back-up CDs and boxes of

paper files.

 

The investigating officers were very polite, respectful and, somewhat

surprised, it seemed, at the farm crew's friendliness and cooperation. Michael

and

his son Markus filmed much of their activities.  Every bottle of milk, cultured

milk, quark, cream and sour cream, along with fresh cheese, that had been put

on the bus was confiscated . . . and then dumped into a local landfill site in

the contaminated substances area!  The farm's cheese-making and other dairy

equipment was completely dismantled and carted off.

 

On Thursday, two days after the raid, Michael Schmidt publicly vowed to

continue distributing raw milk products and announced that he had begun a hunger

strike to back his demand that the provincial government stop interfering with

the business. Schmidt, 51, told the gathering of press, supporters and

interested individuals, held at his family farm northeast of Durham, that he

will live

on one glass of milk a day until his milk processing equipment is returned.

He also wants the province to compensate the 150 families he supplies with raw

milk products for their loss when their food was seized. He's also demanding

the province's assurance that it will not interfere in his unpasteurized milk

operation until or unless the matter is resolved in court or in the provincial

legislature.

 

" Eleven and a half years ago, when I asked (the government) for co-operation

in researching the raw milk issue and they turned me down, I said I would go

ahead alone and if (they) interfered again with legal action I would go on a

hunger strike . . . I'm simply following up on what I had promised at that

time, " he said.

 

According to Schmidt, the government has been fabricating stories that link

milk products from his farm to two cases of sick children last summer. He said

that it was common knowledge that they had become sick from eating tainted

hamburger meat. The family was unknown to Schmidt, were not members of his cow

share program and did not consume his unpasteurized milk.

 

Bill Murdoch, Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Bruce-Grey-Owen

Sound in Ontario where Glencolton is located, has expressed outrage at the

strong-armed tactics used against the Schmidt farm.  He plans to introduce a

private member's resolution on December 7, calling for an all-party task force

to

look into the issues surrounding legalized sale of unpasteurized milk.

 

Thus, while the actions taken against Schmidt were inexcusable, this

situation actually presents a golden opportunity for positive change in Canada,

even

perhaps legislation to legalize the direct sale of raw milk.

 

For updates and further details, visit http://glencoltonfarms.com/ .

 

ACTION TO TAKE

Please take some time this weekend to write letters of outrage and protest.

We ask all members, but especially Canadian members, to contact the individuals

listed below. (You may also wish to contact federal Members of Parliament and

the Toronto City Council posted at the links.) We have provided all the

contact information that we have at this time.

 

 

Canadian members should write a letter and fax it as well as send it through

the post as this carries much more weight than an email.  US members should

send emails, or have any Canadian friends or relatives send your letter for you

from a Canadian address or fax.

 

Please stress the following points:

 

A.      Ask for the immediate return of Michael Schmidt's property and

compensation for the cow share holders so that this folk hero may end his hunger

strike

B.      This is an issue of freedom of choice and the right to farm.

C.      The Canadian constitution ensures the right of conscience and

religion.

D.      Describe how the consumption of raw milk has helped you and your

family.

E.      Remind them that good science shows that raw milk is safe.

F.      Finally, urge them to end the harassment of small farmers and to take

action to legalize the provision of raw milk through direct sales or

cow-share programs.

 

 

 

Thank you for your help!

Sally Fallon, President

The Weston A. Price Foundation

http://www.westonaprice.org/index.html

 

 

GOVERNMENT CONTACTS:

 

1.  Hon David Ramsay

Minister of Natural Resources,

(Note: it was armed agents of the Ministry of Natural Resources that raided

the farm so much pressure needs to be put on this individual)

6630 - 99 Wellesley St. W.

Whitney Block

Toronto, Ontario

M7A 1W3

Tel : 416-314-2301; 705-647-5995

Toll Free: 1-888-701-1105

FAX 416 314 2216 and 705-647-1976

dramsay.mpp

 

2.  Honourable Leona Dombrowsky

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

77 Grenville St

11th Floor

Toronto, Ontario

M5S 1B3

ldombrowsky.mpp

 

3.  Minister of Health Promotion, Jim Watson -

jwatson.mpp

 

4. Hon.  George Smitherman

Minister of Health and Long Term Care

80 Grosvenor

10th Floor Hepburn block

Toronto, Ontario

M7A 2C4

Queen's Park Office (416) 327-4300

Or at his Constituency Office (416) 972-7683

gsmitherman.mpp

 

5. Hon. Greg Sorbara (a consumer, along with his family, of raw milk)

Minister of Finance

7th floor Frost Building South

Queen's Park

Toronto, Ontario

M7A 1Z1

gsorbara.mpp

 

6. Bill Murdoch, MPP, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound

(the riding in which Glencolton Farms and supportive)

Member, Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills

Critic, Rural Affairs Tel : 519-371-2421

Rm 451, Main Legislative Building

Toronto ON M7A 1A8

Tel : 416-325-6242

Fax : 416-325-6248; 519-371-0953

Toll Free : 1-800-461-2664

email : bill.murdochco

Constituency office: 1047 2nd Avenue East, Owen Sound On N4K 2HB

 

7. Hon Dalton McGuinty

Premier of Ontario

Rm 281, Main Legislative Building

Queen's Park

Toronto ON M7A 1A4

Tel : 416-325-1941

FAX 416-325-3745; 613-736-7374

 

8. Commissioner Dave Hope

Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission

5th Floor One Stone Road West

Guelph, Ontario

N1G 4Y2

 

ONTARIO MEMBERS OF PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT

www.ontariotenants.ca/government/mpp.phtml

 

 

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (Federal)

www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?Language=E-:

 

 

MEMBERS OF TORONTO CITY COUNCIL

app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

 

 

Our postal address is

PMB #106-380

4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20016

United States