Farm to Table: Freedom of Choice 2012 was an amazing event. Thanks and congratulations to all who were involved!

Click here for photos and an account of the day posted by Michael Schmidt on The Bovine.

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Meet your “neighbors” from around the state, and share your concerns about the current industrial food system and the erosion of the right of American families to eat the food they want.

Michael Schmidt’s struggle to preserve the right of Canadians to drink raw milk has made him an international hero to those who feel government has no place in their kitchens. He will be the keynote speaker at, “Farm to Table: Freedom of Choice” on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at Windy Acres Dairy Farm, 3320 NW Stahancyk Lane, Prineville, Oregon.

This afternoon outdoor event on the 32-acre farm of Billie Johnson will include a served three-course meal at 2 p.m. that will showcase meats and dairy from Windy Acres as well as local and artisanal products from Central Oregon. At 4 p.m. presentations will begin: Michael will be followed by Mark McAfee, CEO and founder of Organic Pastures Dairy Company, America’s largest producer of raw dairy products. Third speaker is Pete Kennedy, ESQ, attorney and president of the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

The Speakers:

Michael Schmidt is a biodynamic dairyman born in Germany who immigrated to Canada 28 years ago. He and Glencolton Farms in Durham, Ontario, have become synonymous with the struggle to preserve our rights as individuals to choose the foods we eat. Michael is the creator of Cow Share Canada and a champion of raw milk and food freedoms. He has endured a raid by 25 armed officers on his farm in 2006, court trials and sentencing, penalties and fines, and in November ended a 37-day hunger strike when his request for a face-to-face meeting with Ontario’s Premier McGuinty was finally granted. He continues to challenge the current industrial farming system and its relentless destruction of rural North America’s cultural identity. For more information on Michael and his efforts, visit http://thebovine.wordpress.com/

Mark McAfee is the founder and CEO of McAfee Farms and Organic Pastures Dairy Company near Fresno, California. He is premed trained, a retired paramedic and a Health Department medical educator. Mark has been an expert witness in raw milk legislative and judicial proceedings and has lectured on raw milk production, food safety, and nutrition at Stanford Medical School, Rutgers University, 30 different states and internationally. He is certified in HACCP management from Chapman University and has developed and implemented award-winning Food Safety Plans including Raw Milk Risk Analysis & Management Plans (“RAMP”) and the 1997 Odwalla Apple Juice “Field HACCP”.

Pete Kennedy, ESQ is an attorney in Sarasota, FL who works on dairy issues for the Weston A. Price Foundation and is President of the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. He has represented dairy farmers who face possible state enforcement actions and is currently working with others to challenge the federal ban on the interstate shipment of raw milk for human consumption. The Fund is a non-profit which protects the rights of farmers and consumers to engage in direct commerce, protects the rights of farmers to sell the products of the farm and the rights of consumers to access the foods of their choice from the source of their choice.

The Farmer:

Billie Johnson, “100% made in Oregon,” was raised on a cattle ranch in Monument and now owns and operates Windy Acres Dairy Farm in Prineville. As a Grade A commercial dairy, she sold her herd’s high-quality, pasture-based milk to processors for years — and lost money on every bulk tanker load that left the farm. Her strong conviction in people’s right to choose, the love of her animals and life on the farm led her to a new business model. She now manages the herd for members and provides dozens of families with farm-fresh, unprocessed milk. Her wish is simple: to be secure in the knowledge the farm will remain producing food for generations to come.

The Cook:

The meal will be prepared by Lynn Wright who holds a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and has over 30 years experience in professional kitchens. She began her culinary career in 1977 at the venerable Ernie’s Restaurant in San Francisco where she learned the basics of classic French cuisine. She has trained under Daniel Boulud in NYC and Joachim Splichal in Los Angeles and has cooked in hotels and restaurants, for catering companies and families, on private yachts and at a luxury mountain lodge. An avid organic gardener, she has been a certified grower in Northern California for nine years and now manages the local farmers’ market where she sells during the summer.