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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Activism / Raw Milk Activist Michael Schmidt Sentenced to Probation/Fine

Raw Milk Activist Michael Schmidt Sentenced to Probation/Fine

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Michael Schmidt, Canadian farmer and longtime raw milk activist, received a sentence of one year probation and a fine of $9,150 from Ontario Judge Peter Tetley during formal sentencing today.

The sentence follows a September 2011 ruling which convicted Michael on 13 of 19 charges and reversed a lower court’s decision to acquit him and that he did indeed have a legal right to provide cowshare owners with raw milk.

There has been an avalanche of public requests for leniency to Judge Tetley in recent days with hundreds of emails and faxes to his office. The flood of support was so large that a post on this blog requesting such supportive emails, faxes, and letters was taken down to spare Judge Tetley’s secretary any further difficulties.


Judge Tetley acknowledged that the public support which packed the courtroom was a testament to his character.

“(Mr. Schmidt) is a man of principle,” Tetley told the court. “He’s willing to fight for his principles. There’s a lot to admire about Mr. Schmidt.”

Judge Tetley continued by saying, “The present legislation (on raw milk) is inconsistent, at best,” said Tetley, explaining that it is not up to the courts but the government to change current laws.

Schmidt’s lawyer says she plans to appeal the sentence.

Michael has assumed nothing short of folk hero status in Canada in recent years due to his courageous fight for the fundamental right to provide raw milk to consumers in his local area since 1994 when his farm was first raided by government officials.  Michael recently ended a 37 day hunger strike when an overwhelming outpouring of public support persuaded Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to meet with him and discuss furthering the issue of food choice in Canada.

Michael’s next hurdle is a contempt of court charge on December 5, 2011 in Vancouver with regard to a British Columbia cow share operation.

* Michael’s legal defense fund could use your support. Please click here to donate to this worthwhile cause.

 

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

Source: Raw Milk Farmer Fined, Placed on Probation, Montreal Gazette

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Category: Activism, Raw Milk Activism
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (23)

  1. Ingrid

    Nov 27, 2011 at 4:03 am

    Ditto to Beth.
    Governments have become so corrupt being lobbied by Big business and Big Pharma that only we, the ordinary people must now work at turning the whole sick system around and once again insist upon government for the people, by the people, not the corrupt shambles that our government has become .
    Hurrah for people of principle like Michael Schmidt.

    Reply
  2. Drito

    Nov 26, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Sorry as this might sound too much of ignorance, but why is the government so reluctant to allow raw milk in the stores?

    Reply
  3. Beth

    Nov 26, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    Citizens in Canada, the U.S. and other countries must mobilize to change laws. Waiting and hoping for the court system to rectify things is unwise; we need to rectify the underlying root of the problem by changing the laws. It’s like healing underlying gut issues with proper nutrition in order to heal disease.

    Reply
  4. Beth

    Nov 26, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    Canada doesn’t get it. They should take a cue from the European countries they emulate so strongly, not us. France is one of the European nations that has raw milk vending machines, thereby supporting traditional sustainable farming, a healthy citizenry, rural economies and the type of meaningful food security that comes when thriving small family farms dot the landscape.

    Reply
  5. Rachel

    Nov 26, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    I am totally in support of the raw milk movement, as a fellow Canadian raw milk drinker. I do know though, that Michael’s cow share program has descrepancies and that was a big reason the aquittal was overturned. Very unfortunate.

    The judge himself said he’s not against raw milk and knows many people, including some in his own family, who drink raw milk. I thought that was pretty cool. He could’ve used the opportunity to blast raw milk and its supporters and he did not. Kudos to him. He also said current laws are inconsistent and need reform. So, that was postive as well.

    Reply
  6. thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook

    Nov 26, 2011 at 8:06 am

    @Keturah: A different rule of law for the nobles and the peasants apparently? The queen also made sure Prince Harry and Prince William had raw milk delivered to their boarding schools by the way. I wrote a blog post about this awhile ago. Just goes to show that this whole thing is about money and control of the food system .. not in any way about food safety!

    Reply
  7. Bob Dziewiontkoski via Facebook

    Nov 26, 2011 at 2:35 am

    I had always thought that we in the US had cornered the market with clowns in power.

    Reply
  8. Christy Higgins (@HigginsQuest)

    Nov 26, 2011 at 12:48 am

    Raw Milk Activist Michael Schmidt Sentenced to Probation/Fine – http://t.co/mX0QEd3d

    Reply
  9. Anonymous

    Nov 25, 2011 at 11:14 pm

    Is Michael Schmidt a Sovereign or a Slave? Does he not have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness so long as he does no harm? Who defines the terms of how he lives his life – himself or the State? By what authority does the Canadian court system have to dictate how he conducts his business? How can they or the FDA dictate what we can or cannot consume?
    Raw milk consumers need to be educated on how to deal with the courts and assert our human right to healthy foods. Canadian Dean Clifford shows us how he dismantles presumptions in court of our role as servants of the government. Time to turn it around.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaN3MpWnAFk

    Reply
  10. thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook

    Nov 25, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    If you are able to donate to Michael’s legal defense, please go to this link. Any amount would be a blessing.

    Reply
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