Sometimes you’re fortunate enough to meet someone by chance and your interaction — even if short, has a significant impact on your life. When I happened upon Tom Scannell in May of 2020 during a family trip to Pine Island, Florida, I knew I’d found a fellow freedom fighter in this humble yet extremely driven lifelong, extremely fit farmer. He gave us a tour of his Pineshine Farms, patiently answered my barrage of questions and very generously gave me a book that is now one of my favorite reads: Everything I Want to do is Illegal by Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farms.
Tom is a rebel in the agricultural space. He had to unlearn most of what he was taught to grow “beyond organic” food in a regenerative fashion, and I admire his focuses on appreciating beauty in Nature and harmonizing with our natural resources. I also love that he’s not afraid to “fail forward” nor speak the truth, whether it means exposing the ties between big agriculture and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, discussing the war on real milk or pointing out the scary fact that just four meat processors control ninety percent of the United States industry. Salatin’s book goes into excellent detail on this, as well as the ridiculous hurdles our government (funded by big ag) makes small farmers jump in order to run their operations. It’s hair-pull-out maddening!
Tom rightfully comments that in today’s terribly busy and off track society that Americans “take better care of their cars than their bodies… and spend more on lawn care than growing food.”
Do not despair as there is plenty of hope within his message! Tom also explains how the environment in which we live and the foods we consume can help us greatly in creating or regaining our health. And we discuss how intentional purchasing from local farmers helps heal your body, the soil and the community.
Give episode 32 a listen here or on Apple, Spotify or Google Play. If you choose to use one of the latter three, please take a moment to give me a review to help spread the word about our metabolic mission of helping people (re)discover their vitality through real, whole foods and the pleasures of the table! Follow Pineshine on Instagram.
On a pleasures of the table note, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m now writing a monthly column for Selene River Press, the leader in holistic education for over 30 years! My first piece is “Forgetting the Pleasures of the Table is the Missing Piece of the Metabolic Health Puzzle.
Know anyone who would like to feel fabulously vital?!! Consider gifting The Nourishment Mindset available on Amazon or my website for a signed copy with complimentary shipping.
Healthy Rebellion with Tom Scannell of Pineshine Farms