Ontario Court of Appeal to Review Schmidt’s 13 Convictions
By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com
Dairy farmer Michael Schmidt is no stranger to controversy, or to the Ontario legal system for that matter. On Wednesday July 26 2012 Schmidt heads back to court in an attempt to appeal all 13 convictions he received on November 25 2011 related to the sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk and operating a plant without a license.
At the time of the initial ruling, Schmidt was also fined $9,150 CAD and was placed on probation for one year. In Canada it is illegal to distribute, market, sell or even deliver unpasteurized milk to the public. However, it is legally allowed for farmers and their immediate families to drink raw milk and use it for making cheese for their own consumption.
According to Health Canada’s website “The number of food-borne illness outbreaks from milk has dramatically decreased since pasteurization of milk was made mandatory by Health Canada in 1991” While others close to the topic insist that raw milk has additional health benefits that are lost in the pasteurization process, the government has held its ground on the potential health hazards of consuming unpasteurized dairy products.
Schmidt will appear in court today with his lawyer, Karen Selick, who will be asking the court of appeal to re-open the cross-examination of an expert witness originally called by the crown about a study that was published months after Schmidt’s trial had concluded.