Farmer Schmidt

Farmer Michael Schmidt, a 54-year-old dairy farmer, thinks milk is healthier before it is pasteurized. But Canadian health officials do not think so. They think it is not safe. They say it is illegal to sell milk or cream that has not been pasteurized or sterilized.
However, it is legal to drink unpasteurized milk. So farmer Schmidt and 150 other people started the cow-share co-op. Together, they owned 30 cows at Mr. Schmidt's southern Ontario Glencolton Farms. They drank raw milk from their cows. They thought they had right to choose what to put in their body.
One day police raided the farm and Michael Schmidt was brought to court. After three years he was acquitted of 19 charges. Justice of the Peace said in this case Mr. Schmidt did not break the law because he was not selling to the public at large.

What do you think about:
• Michael Schmidt
• Cow-share co-op
• Drinking unpasteurized milk
• Laws regarding consumption of food

Questions for discussion:
1. What kind of food processing do you know?
2. Which food do we preserve to keep it long?
3. What is the most usual way of preserving meet/fish/vegetables /fruit in your country?
4. How do people in your country look after seeds/ reproduction of crops or animals / animal breeds?
5. Which animal or plant species do you know that are at risk of extinction ? What do people do to save those species?