Tag Archives: herdshare program

Call To Action: Raw Milk and Food Freedom

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seized-raw-milk

Raw milk seized by the Fraser Health Authority from Home On The Range (Our Cows). This is what can happen to your food if the state decides you do not have a right to consume that food. Photo from Gordon Watson.

I received an email today from Barbara Schellentberg of the Weston A Price Foundation Vancouver Chapter. She is one of the shareholders with Our Cows, once called Home On The Range, a herdshare program in Chilliwack, BC. They are trying to get 10,000 signatures in the hope of stopping the government from infringing on their right to enjoy the products of their herd. If you would like to support this group’s right to drink raw milk from their own herd, without onerous government interference, please sign the petition:
Support Food Freedom Petition

Here is Alice Jongerden speaking at Occupy Vancouver about how she was once a farmer until the Government said “No!”

Here is a link to a video about a Raw Milk Rally with Michael Schmidt on October 12, 2011. Michael Schmidt should be an inspiration to all citizens of Canada opposing oppressive bureaucracies. Michael Schmidt has been fighting the Government of Canada for over seventeen years trying to ensure you have food freedom. If you would like to learn more about his work please go here.

Cheers,

Caroline Cooper
Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter
eatkamloops.org

Updated October 17, 2011: Here is an essay by Karen Selick of the Canadian Constitution Foundation about liberty and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She says: “Totalitarianism is the name for a political regime in which virtually all aspects of citizens? lives are subject to state control.”
The Courts Are Milking Their Power for All It?s Worth

Ontario Court Reverses Lower Court Decision for Raw Milk Farmer Michael Schmidt

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cheese-plate

All raw cheeses must be fermented for over sixty days before they can be sold in Canada. No raw soft cheese can be sold in Canada. We have completely lost artisan production of raw soft cheeses. How long will Canada remain the only country in the G8 to not allow any type of raw milk sales?

On September 28, 2011, Justice Peter Tetley of the Ontario Court of Justice reversed the lower court decision that acquitted Michael Schmidt on all 19 charges. Michael Schmidt has been found guilty on 15 of the 19 charges. This appeal was brought before the Ontario Court of Justice by the Ontario Government and the Grey Bruce Health Unit. (Here is a link for an overview of the Canadian Court System.)

Michael Schmidt says: ?This is just a temporary setback. We will continue to fight, both through the courts and through the legislature, for the rights of individuals to decide what they put into their bodies. The public supports us on this issue.? Presently Michael Schmidt is on a raw milk hunger strike. If you would like to learn more about Micheal Schmidt please see The Bovine.

Karen Selick is Michael Schmidt’s lawyer and works with the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The Canadian Constitution Foundation has stated they will support Michael Schmidt to the Supreme Court of Canada, if necessary, “in order to defend consumer choice, freedom of contract, and the right to earn an honest living free from government regulation that is arbitrary, unreasonable, unnecessary and unfair.” Here is a link to a statement from the Canadian Constitution Foundation about Micheal Schmidt’s Judgement. You can find a link to the full version of the judgment in the article.

Here are some older posts about Michael Schmidt’s food fight with the Canadian Government. This particular food fight is over raw milk and whether a herdshare program is a legal construct in Canada. A herdshare program is where a group of people collectively own a cow or a herd of cows and contract a farmer to care, milk and pasture the animals. The real issue isn’t raw milk but if we have the right to co-own a herd of animals and to have a private contractual agreement without undue government interference:
Michael Schmidt, Raw Milk Activist, Acquitted!
Canadian Government Appeals Michael Schmidt?s Acquittal
Helping Michael Schmidt, Raw Milk Activist

Here are some older posts about the raw milk situation in BC:
Raw Milk Contamination?
BC Supreme Court Gives Injunction Against Raw Milk
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

Just for fun, CBC is polling to see if people think raw milk sales should be legal in Canada. Tell them what you think:
Should raw milk be sold in Canada?

Updated October 16, 2011: Here is a video about a Raw Milk Rally with Michael Schmidt on October 12, 2011. Michael Schmidt should be an inspiration to all citizens of Canada opposing oppressive bureaucracies.

New Herdshare Program in Prince George, BC

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hunny-do-ranch

Hunny-Do Ranch is near Prince George, BC. They run a herdshare and produce grass-fed beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Photo from Hunny-Do Ranch.

There is a new herdshare program in Prince George, BC started by Hunny-Do Ranch. They are selling shares for milk. They have raw colostrum, raw butter and free range eggs available. They are hoping to have raw cream, raw yogurt, raw kefir, raw cheese, pastured pork and pastured beef coming soon. Please contact Lesley for more information at Hunny-Do Ranch.

I have never tried their products. If you decide to order raw butter get it unsalted. Good raw butter will have a dark yellow color. If the raw butter is dark yellow with an orange tinge, you are looking at an exceptional product. This butter is produced for a few weeks in the spring and fall when the grass is growing fast and will have the best nutritional value. Raw butter freezes well. I froze 50 pounds of raw butter from Organic Pastures last November and I am still enjoying the product.

If you are looking for up-to-date information about a herdshare program in your area please go to www.realmilk.com. If you are interested in the political situation around raw milk in Canada please go to www.naturalmilk.org.