Olga Shibanova, 44, (with Alexei, 7, left, and Ivan, 3) grew up drinking raw milk in Russia and wanted to give it to her children here in Canada. (Jan. 29, 2009)
Cow-share scheme not a 'defence'
January 30, 2009
Health Reporter
A cow-share membership program does not allow Michael Schmidt to skirt mandatory pasteurization laws and distribute milk straight from the cow, prosecutors told a Newmarket court yesterday.
"It isn't a defence of these charges," said Allen Ryan, a lawyer for the Ministry of Natural Resources, which laid 17 charges against the maverick dairy farmer from Durham, Ont. The cow-share program is simply "a preferred customer list" for people who want – and who pay for – raw milk, Ryan said in his closing arguments.
Schmidt, who is defending himself against 20 charges for selling and distributing unpasteurized milk, maintains he is not selling raw milk and that his cow-share program does not break the law. The prohibition against raw milk does not apply to farmers, and Schmidt says each of his some 150 cow-share members, who purchase a $300 membership and pay $3 for each litre of raw milk, simply board their animals at his farm.
The charges against Schmidt stem from 2006, when a ministry official, Susan Atherton, went undercover to infiltrate the farmer's cow-share program. She testified she purchased a membership that allowed her to buy raw milk and raw milk products, including cheese, from Schmidt on five occasions.
Atherton also testified that she observed dozens of other raw milk transactions.
Ryan told the court that Atherton's observations "constitute distribution" and the five transactions she made for raw milk are "sales" since she still paid money for the product.
In his closing, Schmidt countered that the cow-share program and his farm store were never open to the public and that his members are "informed consumers who knowingly, willingly and freely entered into private contract."
The second phase of the trial, which deals with Schmidt's constitutional challenge to mandatory pasteurization laws, started yesterday afternoon.
The Shibanova family
Name: Olga Shibanova, 44, Tottenham
Occupation: A former mechanical engineer for a major car company and now a stay-at-home mom to Alexei, 7, and Ivan, 3.
Cow-share member since: 2003.
Why raw milk: Olga (above, with Alexei, left, and Ivan) grew up drinking raw milk in Russia and wanted to give it to her children here in Canada. Every summer, she says, her family went back to the village in the countryside. And every morning, at 8 o'clock, the children were led to the cows and given a glass of raw milk still warm from the cow.
Quote: "My grandmother told me, `You drink this all of your life. This is important to your health,'" Olga says. "This was the experience of me, my parents, my grandparents. My grandmother turned 102, by the way, in September. I trust her advice much more than the advice of Health Canada."
The Fortin-Perreault family
Names: Marc Fortin, 34, below and Marie-Eve Perreault, 30
Occupations: Marc is a photographer and Marie-Eve a mom to Hana, 6, and Satya, 2 months.
Cow-share members since: 2002. The family, who lives in Markdale near Durham, Ont., drives 7 kilometres to Glencolton Farms each week to pick up 8 to 10 litres of milk.
Why raw milk? Marie-Eve started to drink raw milk while breastfeeding Hana, after she linked the pasteurized organic milk she drank to Hana's skin reactions and other health issues. Now, the whole family – even Marc, who is lactose-intolerant – drinks raw milk.
Quote: "This is our right," says Marc, of drinking raw milk.
The Plummer family
Name: Patrick Plummer, 49, and Rachel Plummer, 6 1/2 (at left)
Occupation: Mortgage broker and Grade 1 student from Etobicoke
Cow-share members since: 2000. The Plummers go to the Blue Bus every Tuesday to get 12 litres of raw milk.
Why raw milk? Patrick turned to raw milk to help with his allergies and asthma, and soon his wife, Michelle, drank it, too – even though she is lactose-intolerant. Their children, Rachel and Jonathon, 3, have been drinking raw milk since they were babies, right after Michelle's struggles with breastfeeding. "From day one they've been raised on raw milk and they've never had health problems," says Patrick. "No issues with teething, no ear problems; they've never been sick."
Reaction to trial: Patrick says his parents were raised on raw milk in Jamaica and can't understand why it is unavailable – or even an issue – here in Canada. "Other countries in the world allow raw milk," he says. "Why is it illegal here? California can do it. Germany can do it. Italy can do it. Why is it a bad, evil thing in Canada?"
Quotes: "It tastes really good," says Rachel with a shy grin. "If I could have a cow in my backyard in Toronto, I would do that," says Patrick. "But I cannot do that. I don't see what the problem is here."
- Megan Ogilvie