An Ontario man is now more than a month into a hunger strike he started Sept. 29 to protest a ban on raw cow milk for human consumption.
Michael Schmidt said he has taken the drastic step in an attempt to bring further publicity to his long-standing battle with the federal government over the right to produce unpasteurized cow milk.
It appears to be working.
Public support for Schmidt’s cause has grown over the past few weeks. His Facebook followers now number in the thousands.
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“The movement … grows because of the non-responsiveness of government,” said Schmidt, the leader of the raw milk movement in Canada.
“People are appalled about the stand government is taking. My hunger strike is a clear demonstration that the government has no right to decide what people put into their bodies”.
Schmidt said he has spent 17 years trying to enter into a constructive dialogue with health authorities, the milk marketing board and Agriculture Canada.
“I have the same concerns in regards to the safety of raw milk … (as) the ministry of health. We need to minimize risk,” said Schmidt.
He believes raw milk is the only substance on which the government has a zero tolerance risk policy.
Schmidt said the government’s stance on raw milk does not acknowledge that sanitation and testing have evolved.
David Gumpert, an American writer and blogger, said Schmidt has made great strides.
“Through the hunger strike, (Schmidt) has publicized and dramatized the issue in a way that has never happened before,” said Gumpert.
He said the raw milk movement is growing because “more and more people are beginning to realize that this is important, more and more people are outraged by the injustice of what is happening to (Schmidt) and by extension what they see happening to themselves.”
Gumpert believes the raw milk debate is part of the broader debate over fundamental rights of individuals. He said Schmidt is not trying to make raw milk available to the general public. Instead, he wants to supply raw milk to people who want it.
Gumpert believes the federal government should talk with Schmidt and other raw milk advocates.
Canadian food and drug regulations prohibit the sale of unpasteurized milk for human consumption. Pasteurization is the process of applying heat to raw milk to remove bacteria that may cause human illness. The process does not affect the nutritional properties of milk.
The number of food-borne illness outbreaks from milk has decreased since pasteurization of milk was made mandatory by Health Canada in 1991.
Schmidt said he intends to carry on with his hunger strike until he gets the desired results.
