Michael Ilgert, who markets raw milk from his dairy farm
near Golden Lake near the Eastern side of Algonquin Park, presented his case to
the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board this week.
His situation is similar to Michael Schmidt who also started
with an appeal to the same body, then filed further appeals in court and
eventually lost when the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear his last-gasp
appeal.
Ilgert also tends cows that his clients own, just as Schmidt
set up his operation in an attempt to escape bans on marketing raw milk. It’s
okay in Ontario to drink raw milk from cows you own, as many dairy-farming
families have always done.
Renfrew County and District Health Unit issued a
cease-and-desist order against Ilgert and that’s what he appealed this week.
He says milk from his Organic Acres cows is more nutritious
than what’s pasteurized and sold in retail outlets. He also claims that people
who can’t tolerate store-bought milk have no digestive issues with raw milk
from his herd.
However, there are routine reports of illnesses among North Americans who consume raw milk.
Pasteurizing milk kills bacteria that can cause serious illnesses, even death.
