"Standing up for our rights to produce and consume real food is probably the single most important act of independence and responsible citizenship we can make." - Sir Julian Rose

There are many foods that must be cooked to be rendered edible for humans. Dairy is not among them.

The purpose of this campaign is to create a grass roots force to be reckoned with in the movement for raw milk rights and freedoms. One that will grow and not back down until our goal is accomplished: the legalization of raw dairy sales across Canada.

There are many frameworks within which raw milk could be legally and safely produced and sold to consumers in Canada. The simplest is a "hands-off" approach by the government, wherein consumers are free to purchase milk directly from farms. Conversely, the production and sale of raw milk to stores could be overseen by a regulatory agency.

Producing healthy milk from healthy animals is not rocket science. We have all of the knowledge and technology to do so safely and effectively. Humans have been doing so around the world for thousands of years.

Canadians, and indeed people all over the world, deserve the right to purchase raw milk directly from any farm or store that supplies it.

Why do Canadian, Australian and Scottish governments, among others, require that milk be cooked before being sold?

In Canada, a dairy cartel controls the market. They desire to control the supply, price and the product itself. As with many commercial food products, they favour uniformity of colour, texture and taste. They want maximum shelf life. They do not want the product to vary from day to day.

The colour, composition and taste of raw milk will vary based on the cow's diet. If a herd is pasture fed in the warmer months and fed haylage in the winter, their milk will change with the seasons. Various plants can impart their own flavour into milk. Unadulterated raw milk is simply filtered and chilled. It is not homogenized and contains no additives. 

If consumers are free to purchase milk directly from farmers, the dairy cartel loses sales. The cartel feels threatened by the possibility that Canadians may one day be able to circumvent their grasp of the market. While the cartel is in cahoots with the government, we must stand up for our rights and use our voting power wisely.

Imagine less than 0.02% of Canadians preventing 99.9% from accessing a local, affordable and delicious staple food of human civilization. This is the current situation. 

Furthermore, almost every dairy producer in Canada drinks raw milk. They are prohibited from selling raw milk to anyone, and risk losing their livelihood if caught. 

Some combination of ignorance, misinformation and fear mongering is responsible for this blatant discrepancy in the market.

Key Points

• Mandatory high temperature treatment (pasteurization) of milk before sale is not a mark of human progress or ingenuity.

• Properly tending to dairy animals' needs in a sanitary and humane manner, so that they may produce a high quality food IS a mark of human progress and ingenuity.

• Humans have domesticated animals for dairy for thousands of years.

• Humans cannot derive proper nutrition from the leaves, grasses, and plants that ruminants are made to thrive on. We can raise ruminants on plants, and in turn derive tremendous nutrition from their milk.

• Many people who think they are dairy intolerant are actually pasteurized dairy intolerant. Pasteurized dairy is denatured. Lactose intolerance is usually solved with raw milk. Raw butter and raw cheese contain negligible amounts of lactose and are very easily absorbed and utilized by the body.

• The vast majority (90% +) of Canadian dairy farmers drink the milk that they produce raw, yet they are members of a cartel that prohibits the sale of raw milk to Canadians. A shining example of "do as I say, not as I do".

• This cartel, together with government organizations, harasses, prosecutes and imprisons raw milk suppliers.

• There have been violent clashes with law enforcement in Canada, where those standing up for their right to raw milk were hospitalized with injuries.

• Toxin contamination can happen to any food. Contaminated cantaloupe caused an outbreak in 2012 that killed 33 people. Spinach contamination killed three people in 2006. Pasteurized dairy is not immune from contamination.

Part of this campaign is to share existing knowledge, research, and information pertaining to raw milk.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Human populations that have thrived on a diet consisting almost entirely of raw dairy.

• Testimonies from raw milk drinkers, including doctors and nutritionists.

• Nutrient analysis of raw milk.

• How easy it is to make your own butter, cream, cheese, whey, kefir, yoghurt and more from raw milk.

• Differences between exclusively pasture fed cows versus grain fed cows (milk volume and composition, lifespan of cows, etc.)

• Whether or not raw milk is truly a carrier for pathogens. A study from UC Davis in 2003 demonstrated that pathogens can only proliferate in cooked (pasteurized) dairy. The pathogens did not survive in raw milk because of the lactic acid that is naturally present in all raw milk.

• Raw milk production and sales systems in parts of the world where it's legal.

• Good food is vital to good health. A look into the toxins that are rampant in many of today's processed foods.

• Pasteurized milk's link to asthma, allergies, eczema, among other illnesses.

• Empirical and anecdotal evidence that raw dairy products are healthy. Studies and data that support this.

Shelf Life

Once pasteurized milk spoils, it is rendered putrid and inedible. Under normal conditions, raw milk does not putrefy. Raw milk ferments. It transforms into a kefir type drink. Fermented raw milk can be strained to make a simple rennet-free cheese. The cream on top of fermented milk becomes sour cream, which can further be made into cultured butter and buttermilk.

Refrigerated raw milk can stay fresh for 7-14+ days, depending on the source of the milk. Any farm or shop selling raw milk needn't worry about wasting raw milk if it has not sold before its best before date. Cultures from around the world, from places including Eastern Europe, Africa and India, readily consume fermented milk and indeed prefer it. There is a market for fermented milk, even in Canada, and it does not have to go to waste.

Expired pasteurized milk is always garbage, because it is toxic.

Raw Cheeses in Canada

Most cheeses labelled as raw are made with unpasteurized milk as an ingredient, but the milk is heated to high temperatures during the cheese making process. Casein coagulates at temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius and up. There is no need to heat milk to a high temperature during the cheese making process, and yet nearly all cheese producers are doing so.

For individuals on a salt restricted diet, most cheeses currently on the market are too heavily salted to be healthy to consume in any appreciable quantity.

Contrary to the CFIA, a raw, unsalted cheese, can be easily and safely produced and consumed. Due to misguided and overbearing restrictions, this food staple is unavailable on the market. 

Goals and Actions

• Meetings with politicians on the federal, provincial and municipal level, so that whoever is currently in power can take immediate action towards rectifying the raw milk fiasco in Canada (many of you are wondering if "politician" and "immediate action" belong in the same sentence).

• Make raw milk a relevant topic in the upcoming Canadian Federal election, if it is not legalized before then.

• Encourage raw milk advocates to run for office at all levels of government.

• Host and promote events, gatherings and public demonstrations for raw milk advocates.

• Utilize signage, billboards and vehicle wraps, among other promotional methods. 

• Since raw milk can be legally purchased by Canadians in most US border states, and brought back into Canada for personal consumption, we will connect Canadians who live within driving distance of the border, so that they may share rides and split the travel costs.

• Fiercely support our rights while cooperating with all stakeholders.

• Legal raw dairy across Canada. Canadians regaining their freedom to purchase raw milk, raw cream, raw butter and raw cheese directly from farms and shops. 

The Future of Human Health Lies in Our Food

If you poured the wrong fuel into your car, and it began malfunctioning, you wouldn't keep using the wrong fuel while trying to keep on top of all of the problems that arose. No mechanic would take this approach. Yet the pharmaceutical medical model is based on this approach. Masking symptoms and illnesses with drugs while continuing to ignore the direct link between food and health is unsustainable. 

Food colourings, flavourings, preservatives, thickening agents, pesticides, and whatever other garbage is being added to food, are deteriorating our health. 

What kind of society do we live in, if we let our own government forbid us from purchasing wholesome food? How can we teach our children that bullying is wrong, meanwhile letting the government act as the ultimate bully, harassing and imprisoning farmers for providing families with access to nourishing food?

These absurd laws should never have been enacted to begin with. It's in our hands to correct the errors of past generations.

Our intention is for our friends in Australia, Scotland and any other country where raw milk rights are under attack, to run parallel campaigns alongside this one. Working simultaneously in our respective countries, we can create a stronger force by sharing in this battle. 

Australians are lucky insofar as they can legally purchase raw goat's milk in four states, whereas Canadians have the advantage of being able to purchase raw dairy in the US, and Scots can purchase theirs from England.

If we raised a couple of bucks for every Canadian that drinks raw milk or would like to drink it if they could buy it, we would raise millions of dollars towards this fight. 

As only a percentage of Canadians will come across this campaign, and fewer will contribute, we have set a more modest fundraising target. Our initial goal is to raise $50K.

Check back on this page regularly for updates.

Watch This Video To Learn More

Educational Video Featuring Mark McAfee

A Profound Article

Contact: milkisnotacrime@gmail.com

Update June 23rd, 2019: We have transferred all funds raised through this campaign ($28.53 after Paypal fees) from our Paypal account to Glen Colton Farms towards their current fundraising campaign / legal battle.