As you may remember, in late November of 2006, farmer Michael Schmidt's Glencolton Farms was raided by a Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement squad. Cheesemaking and milking equipment was seized, along with financial records and computers. Michael was charged on a number of counts related to operating a milk plant. At the time there was a flurry of media attention in both the local Owen-Sound area press and the Toronto media. There were TV news interviews, a CBC TV documentary, feature articles in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star as well as stories in the farming press. Press conferences were held shortly after the raid, both at Glencolton Farms near Durham, and at Jamie Kennedy's restaurant on Front Street in downtown Toronto to get the story out.

All that was nearly six months ago. People who are interested in the issues behind the case, which are about food rights and access to raw milk, may be left wondering what has been going on since then. As of May 10th, 2007, legal proceedings are still at the stage of not having a court date set or a location for the trial agreed upon. Authorities have returned some of Michael's records, although so far they seem to be keeping the equipment. Meanwhile Michael and his co-workers have been continuing to farm as best they can under the circumstances while Michael has been taking every opportunity to engage in public discussion about the rights and health issues around raw milk. Throughout all the difficulties and challenges of recent months, Michael has continued to fulfil his contractual obligations to cow-share owners.

Following the raid Michael received immediate support from local politicians. Local MMP Bill Murdoch put forth a private members' bill in the Ontario Legislature, asking for the government to study issues around raw milk. However, due to a lack of interest and opposition on the part of the government (most government members did not even show up for the debate in the house) and opposition from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (the former Milk Marketing Board), Mr. Murdoch's private members bill was not passed.

After the raid in November, Michael embarked on a month-long hunger strike during which he drank only water and one glass of raw milk each day. The end of that month was marked by another gathering at Queen's Park, this time for a press conference with celebrity chefs in attendance, as well as cow-share members and supporters from the general public. There was even a cow from the Glencolton herd on hand for the festivities. The professional publicist who organized that event said later that she had never had such a high percentage of invited media turn out to an event before. Clearly this is an issue that captures the public imagination.

In January, Michael Schmidt was a featured speaker and panelist at the annual Guelph Organic Conference, held at the University of Guelph. Cow-share member Judith McGill shared the podium with Michael to offer a consumer perspective. Michael's lecture attracted a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters. Michael's participation went ahead in spite of slanderous arguments from opponents that the university should not be providing a forum for “a known criminal”.

Not long after the Guelph conference, the blue Glencolton bus was stopped by an unmarked car on a deserted country road while enroute to Durham. Soon several other unmarked cars arrived on the scene. One of Michael's helpers, was driving at the time. He was told to get out of the bus and was not allowed back in to get his jacket. He waited outside in the winter cold for half an hour while the men, evidently police, were inside the bus. At least one was carrying a briefcase and wearing a trenchcoat. It looked to the driver as if measurements were being made inside.

Eventually the driver was ticketed $750 for alleged safety-related violations. However, when the bus was taken to a garage to have these safety issues attended to, the mechanic declared that there was in fact nothing wrong with the supposedly non-functional safety items.

Since then, supporters have made a point of escorting the bus on its journeys to and from the farm to ensure that any irregular actions taken by officials will be witnessed and recorded. That's why, when Michael was pulled over recently on Hwy 10 for doing 109 in an 80 km/hr zone, a cow share member was standing by with a video camera before the OPP officer even got out of his cruiser. Of course the policeman wondered what this was all about. The cow share member said he was there to record everything and Michael subsequently explained to the officer what had happened when the unescorted bus had been stopped in the incident described above. The officer, who stated he was only there about speeding, was mystified and asked which police force had been involved in the boarding incident.

In February, Orly Dinar, with help from local celebrity chefs and other supporters of Michael's work, organized a Big Big Benefit concert at the Cilento winery in Woodbridge which proved a rallying point for the movement. This event raised $21,000 for raw milk legal defence. This was actually the second benefit concert in support of raw milk, the first having taken place back in December. That first concert raised $5000 and was the kick-off point for the 100 club fundraising effort, which called for 100 people to step forward with donations of $1000 each.

In all, donations to date total over $100,000., a practical necessity since Michael has engaged Clayton Ruby as his lead defence lawyer. Legal costs are mounting and still more money will be needed to see this case through to its conclusion. If you would like to donate, details are listed below.

In recent months, public information forums on raw milk issues have been hosted by concerned groups in London and Kingston at Queens University. Both Michael Schmidt and Judith McGill took part in these well attended and enthusiastically received events. As well, Michael Schmidt was a featured speaker at last month's Total Health show in Toronto, where he conducted the Symphony in the Barn orchestra and took part in a lively panel discussion with concerned citizens, debating issues around raw milk and food rights. Two hundred new supporters signed up at the Glencolton farms booth, to be added to the email list for news and updates. If you would like add your name added to the list, email jlmcgill@rogers.com .

When faced with a challenging situation, it's best to do something positive, however small. Inform yourself about the issues, talk about it with your friends and then take whatever constructive action seems right to you.
Working together is powerful. An alliance of concerned groups and individuals has been meeting to share ideas about how this issue can be moved forward and to work together to implement those ideas. Interested parties have included farmers, farm organizations, concerned individuals, consumer groups and the federal Green Party. If your group would like to be a part of this effort, please email a statement of interest to info@foodrightsalliance.ca and ask to be notified of future meetings. More benefit concerts and public information events are planned for the months to come. For latest news, you can subscribe to the email list (jlmcgll@rogers.com) or check www.glencoltonfarms.com and www.foodrightsalliance.ca for highlights.

If you feel moved to donate to the cause of raw milk legal defence, you can either send your cheque directly to the Raw Milk Legal Defence Fund in Trust, c/o Beverley Viljakainen, 344183 North Line, R.R.#2 Priceville, ON, N0C 1K0 or, if you would like a charitable tax receipt for your donation, send your cheque (payable to The Family Life Foundation) to: The Family Life Foundation, Healthy Food Initiative, 19 Maryvale Cres., Richmond Hill, L4C 6P6.