In any kind of media, it's amazing to see what is left in the final work and what's cut out. Even more so, if you look at it from a broader perspective, there is even more left out before the work begins. In a family movie, they might want to leave out swearing, for example - something that wouldn't fit what they're going for.
We are very intentional in what we choose to include and exclude from our issues.
We want to keep things personal, accessible, and welcoming. We try to keep things positive but our stance firmly held. We want to put food first and stories first because we think this helps us connect with other people best. It was meant to feel kind of conversational, like a friend bringing over a few recipes to an afternoon of long discussions.
On the flip side, we don't include exclusionary language or tone - like body-negativity, racism, or any kind of shaming in general. We don't include stories about dietary supplements, over-the-top health claims, or extreme dieting - basically anything that we would feel scammed by if we heard it on TV or even from a friend.
Most of all, we don't include advertisements or sponsorships at all, and for good reason - we think that if you pay for something, your reading experience shouldn't include being sold to. Advertisements cover almost every space we see, whether it's online or on a billboard, and some places should be free of clutter and distraction. More importantly, we didn't want our content to feel at all swayed by our advertisers. A lot of "healthy living" magazines are supported by incredibly unhealthy companies selling "life changing" supplements and foods that are super processed - vegan or not, the ingredients aren't good for your health or for the environment.
It feels like some magazines are created and sustained just to make ad money, and that wasn't something we felt needed to happen anymore, or at least not with us. We want to make something we feel proud of - we take our ideals seriously and want that to come through on our pages. We hope that comes through and that you might look differently at mainstream magazines differently because of our work. <3