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Letters to Dr. Karim Kurji |
Dear Doctor,
I have been told that farmer Michael Schmidt has been the target of
Health Unit surveillance and other tactics shortly before Mr. Schmidt
is scheduled to appear in court.
As a well-informed and proactive citizen vitally interested in the health of my family and deeply and passionately concerned about the treatment of small farmers in our country and in this province specifically, I would be extremely interested in the rationale for these actions, particularly viz., the expense which must have been involved, even though a trial is scheduled to begin shortly.
It is utterly incomprehensible to me that so much effort and attention has been paid to this small operation, which has done nothing to coerce or otherwise force commitment or even interest in its products. I find it unbearable to see evidence that large farming operations can exert pressure or influence on any public health concern to "protect" their interests, while the small or unorthodox farmer must operate without such protection.
Those of us who have conducted our own research and have determined that the interests of large farming operations may not be in our interests beg and demand that you show the same respect to our concerns. We are not zealots or idiots - I have decided, for example, that my health interests are better served by fresh, locally produced foods where I can investigate production methods and ensure hygiene, safety and wholesomeness. And as a human being, it is important to me to be able to speak with the farmer who grows some of my food.
It is appalling to me that this preference is not only not respected, but is under attack by public officials.
I will be most interested in your personalized response. If you are simply preparing a "form" letter to deal with those of us who take the time to indicate that we have specific health interests in ensuring small farmers like Mr. Schmidt are able to produce food to meet the demands of consumers like me, please spare the additional expense. We are already facing the costs of your unit's surveillance and other activities.
Dear Dr. Kurji,
I am stating my support for Michael Schmidt and the raw milk issue.
I am one of many in the Chinese community who has known the benefits of raw
milk and wholeheartedly supports Michael Schmidt.
Welming Chen
Dear Dr. Kurji,
I have owned a cow share with Michael Schmidt for over six years and have been drinking almost a litre a day for all that time. I have absolute confidence in the safety of this wholesome, natural food, and, believe me, I did my research before I tried my first glass.
I am a sensible woman of 59 years of age, and I would never do anything so foolish as to risk my health by consuming food that is unsafe. Before discovering Michael Schmidt's farm, I had not consumed milk for about 15 years because my digestive system simply cannot tolerate pasteurized dairy products. I was terribly concerned about getting osteoporosis, and I had no interest in taking calcium or other supplements, since I firmly believe that all nutrients should be obtained from food. Since I have been drinking raw milk, which I found to be supremely delicious, and which I could digest with no problem at all, I have become so healthy that my doctor has said to me, "I wish all my patients were as healthy as you are."
My 83-year-old mother also enjoys the raw milk I serve her, as well as the homemade ice cream I make from raw cream. I would never feed anything even slightly dangerous to anyone, especially someone as dear to me as my lovely mother. I also know many beautiful, healthy children who have been consuming raw milk, to their great benefit, from the time they have been weaned.
Any court action against Michael Schmidt that prevents him from providing a natural and healthful food to the people who choose to consume it will be a tragedy. Do you not realize that those who need their milk to be untreated may very well try to find it in any way they can, and what they find may not be milk that is produced to the high standards of Michael Schmidt's operation? Do you not see that you have a gift in Michael Schmidt, and that if you work with him to regulate the production of raw milk you will avoid a terrible outcry from those of us who depend on it as a source of nutrition that is not available in any other food?
Please try to look at this situation in a realistic way, not coloured by the interests of others who may believe that allowing people to choose for themselves what they consume, and allowing farmers to provide this food, will be detrimental to their own interests. There is room for everyone.
I thank you kindly for your attention.
Sincerely,
Andrea Lemieux
Dear Members of Parliament,
The issue of access to raw milk from cows that are grass-fed and hormone and antibiotic free is an important one that requires accurate research. Such milk is available in many parts of the European Union and the United States. In fact, it's used in some hospitals in Germany. I know that such claims as "We have a right to make our own choices about our food" and "Unpasteurized milk tastes better." have no bearing on your decision, but please consider some of the facts which I have read in books suggested below:
In the United States all outbreaks of salmonella in recent decades have occurred from drinking pasteurized milk. This includes a 1985 outbreak in Illinois that struck 14 000 people and resulted in one death. This strain of salmonella was resistant to both penicillin and tetracycline. Raw milk contains lactic-acid containing bacteria that protect against pathogens. Pasteurizing destroys these healthy organisms, leaving the finished product devoid of any protective mechanisms, should bacteria inadvertently contaminate the supply. Raw milk, in time, turns pleasantly sour, while pasteurized milk will putrefy.
Pasteurization alters milk's amino acids lysine and tyrosine which, makes the whole complex of proteins less available. It promotes the rancidity of unsaturated fatty acids and the destruction of vitamins. Half the vitamin C is lost, along with most of the other water soluble vitamins. Vitamin B12 is totally destroyed. The natural vitamin D that is destroyed with pasteurization is replaced with synthetic vitamin D2 or D3-one is toxic and has been linked to heart disease and the other is hard to absorb. The lipase in raw milk helps the body to digest and utilize butterfat.
I know that drinking the milk of confinement cows, that are grain-fed, (fed soy and corn, usually genetically modified) and given routine antibiotics and hormones would not be healthy. The milk of such cows is not resistant enough to pathogens and contains very little vitamin A or D. Organic pastures in California have never had one pathogen found in their milk. 32 million serving’s worth and counting and not one pathogen. Poorly produced raw milk can be dangerous just like any poorly produced and handled food.
What is so frustrating is that important issues like the question of access to raw milk are left to politicians who make decisions based on rhetoric, fear mongering and junk science (spurred on by the food processing companies). Of course these decisions favour the big corporations and have little to do with what is best for our health. Unfortunately with such low standards of milk production, farmers have little incentive to pasture-feed their herds or follow other practices that would lead to high quality milk. Canadians need a medical officer of health who is well-informed- we do not need more puppets of the food-processing companies.
Anyone who wants to understand the science and the politics behind the pasteurization of milk should read The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid or Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.
Laura Carroll
To: The Medical Officer of Health
and the Assistant Medical Officer of Health
York Regional Health Unit,
The Regional Municipality of York
Dear Dr. Karim Kurji and Paula Ferreira
I was shocked today when I read about the political stunt that you are pulling regarding the case of Michael Schmidt… dragging Mr. Schmidt to Court three days before his trial, and apparently wanting the court to issue an order of compliance, or arrest warrant!!!! Are you a health unit entity or a political activist group staging stunts for attention?
If raw milk is as hazardous as you purport, why on earth have you not taken action like this before now, sometime during the past two years since the raid????? What sort of health unit allows a substance they state is so hazardous to consume to continue to be distributed to the public, including minors, and not go to court and order an arrest warrant as soon as possible? Given your view of raw milk, you have been incredibly complacent in endangering the lives of children and adults over the last two years, and only taking Michael Schmidt to court days before the trial. The timing is highly suspect. Do you have any ethics?
If the raw milk is so hazardous…..you should have arrested this farmer sometime …anytime….over the last two years. Additionally, you have been fully aware that Michael Schmidt has not only defied the order to stop distributing raw milk to cow share owners over the last two years since the raid on his farm, but he has publicly defied this order for over the last 13 years since his first trial. The Ontario government and Ministry of Health (York Regional Health Unit included) have permitted Michael Schmidt to continue distributing his raw milk to his customers in Thornhill, uninterrupted, for more than thirteen years since that first trial. He notified the government in writing of his actions after the trial, and has continued to remain open and transparent about his activities. He has never been arrested! Is this our health unit looking out for public safety and responding effectively? (Ironically, maybe it truly was).
If raw milk is as hazardous as the Minister of Health has stated, I think that I, as a consumer, should consider taking the Ministry of Health, and the York Regional Health Unit to court for knowingly allowing this supposedly illicit and dangerous activity to continue for so many years….only waiting to take action in the metaphorical last hour …3 days before Michael Schmidt’s trial date. That’s our Regional Health Units…. looking out for our health!!!!!! You should be ashamed!
Additionally, if raw milk is such a hazardous liquid white substance to consume, why on earth does the Ministry of Health allow dairy farmers and their families across Ontario to consume raw milk from their dairy cattle? Is there some ulterior motive? Is the motive for the farmer, against the farmer, for the consumer, against the consumer? It is hard to figure out! Interestingly, my husband was given raw milk by a dairy farmer during his adolescent years, but due to the unconstitutional nature of the law, later in life he was unable to acquire the milk back in the city, and by-laws prevented him from having his own cow in our backyard.
Your actions are an offence to the public. If you truly think consuming raw milk is a serious health threat, you had a moral obligation to react years ago. If the threat that raw milk is not so hazardous (as your actions over the years, as opposed to your words, have indicated), you had the moral obligation to let the original trial be undertaken fairly and unencumbered by such offensive political staging and unconscionable actions.
Sincerely,
Shirley Ann Wood
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