Today in our ongoing saga of legalization initiatives, Rosemary Counter talks to Canada’s pre-eminent outlaw milk farmer (not that there are too many of them jostling for the top position), Michael Schmidt. Schmidt believes that Canadians should be able to drink unpasteurized milk if they want to, and that it’s actually better for you; Health Canada says otherwise, and warns consumers that raw milk can be harmful to your health. Let us know where you stand by voting in today’s poll at right.

Here’s Schmidt’s take:

Despite what Schmidt wants you to think, says [Dairy spokesman] Bill Mitchell, this is not a dairy industry issue, it’s a health issue: “A guy from an unlicensed farm selling unpasteurized milk in mason jars he washes by hand is an outbreak waiting to happen.”

For others still, whether raw milk is safe or not, it’s a basic human right for informed consumers to choose what they eat. “People should not think this is a milk issue,” says Schmidt. “It happened to be milk in my case, but the real problem is the government infringing on people’s rights.”

Read the full article here.

Tomorrow: Laura Kusisto on hate speech