Eating Together is an independent journal by InviteTo.Food about the relationships, memories, language and places shaped by eating together. These standards describe how we aim to work and how readers can hold us accountable.
Accuracy and evidence
We distinguish observation, interpretation and verified fact. Names, dates, quotations, translations and factual claims should be checked against reliable sources or confirmed by people with direct knowledge. When evidence is incomplete or contested, the article should say so rather than manufacture certainty.
Sources, interviews and quotations
Contributors should explain the purpose and intended form of an interview before publication. Quotations must preserve the speaker’s meaning and should not be rearranged to create a position they did not express. Anonymous sourcing is exceptional and requires a clear public reason while protecting information that could expose the source.
Cultures, traditions and language
Food traditions are living practices, not decorative symbols. We seek specific context, avoid treating one person as representative of an entire culture, retain original culinary language where it matters and explain unfamiliar terms without implying that the reader’s experience is the default. Translation should preserve meaning, register and uncertainty, not merely literal words.
Independence and disclosure
Editorial judgement belongs to Eating Together. InviteTo.Food’s relationship to the journal is stated openly, and product interests do not determine an article’s conclusions. Contributors must disclose relevant financial, professional, personal or hospitality relationships. Gifts, travel, meals, access or commercial support that could reasonably affect a reader’s understanding should be disclosed in the work.
Corrections and updates
Substantive errors should be corrected promptly and transparently. A correction note should explain what changed and, when useful, why. Quiet edits are appropriate only for spelling, formatting or another change that does not alter meaning. Developing stories may carry a dated update note.
Artificial intelligence and automation
Tools may assist with transcription, organisation, translation support, research administration or technical production. Generated material is not a source or evidence. Factual claims, quotations and translations remain subject to human verification, and a named editor remains responsible for the published work. Confidential interviews or unpublished contributor material should not be placed into an external AI service without appropriate permission and safeguards. Material use of synthetic text, imagery or audio should be disclosed when it could affect a reader’s understanding of the work.
Privacy, dignity and harm
Public interest is not the same as public curiosity. We minimise unnecessary personal detail, take particular care with children and vulnerable people, and consider foreseeable harm before publishing identifying information. Consent to speak is not automatically consent to reveal every detail a person shares.
Contributors and commissioned work
Commissioned contributors should receive a clear brief covering scope, format, deadline, editorial process, rights, credit and agreed payment before substantial work begins. Editing should strengthen clarity and evidence without erasing the contributor’s voice or relationship to the subject.
How to raise a concern
For a factual correction, attribution issue, rights concern or question about these standards, email admin@inviteto.food or use the Contact page. Please identify the article and the passage concerned and include supporting information where possible.