Editorial issues?

[AGirlKeeps]

Hello! I am reading the kindle version of the book and preparing to start a vegetarian/vegan version of this program. I apologize because I am always hypercritical of something before I dive off the deep end but I noticed a few issues right off the bat. The first pictures regard Champagne being both in the "DO NOT EVER USE EVEN TO COOK WITH" and the exceptions to rules.... So is it allowed or no? I'm guessing.... no?

My second is just more exceptional nit pickiness. I have huge issues with a diet that says it's about getting healthy but then says not to worry about where all the meat you'll be eating for the next 30 days comes from. I know you guys generally try to promote knowing where you source your meat but having this right there in the book is a huge red flag. My growth was stunted as a child due to all the hormones and antibiotics in meat. I started puberty at age 9 because of the imbalances it caused in my body before I had even heard of soy as food. Of all the hormonal and gut imbalances soy might give you, meat, especially beef, is 100000x worse. If this is about promoting so called gut health then why not discourage using meat that is fed antibiotics and fattened up on hormones entirely rather than say "don't worry about those" it's highly counter intuitive to the mission and what this diet is supposed to be about.

[kirbz]

My understanding is this... 

The rules state that champagne is not allowed. No alcohol is allowed, not even to cook with. However, most vinegars are allowed, including stuff like white wine vinegar. The alcohol in vinegar is consumed by the fermentation process and therefore isn't really alcohol, which is why it's okay. 

The book says not to "stress" about organic, grass-fed, or local meat products. Not that it doesn't matter. I believe this is to make Whole30 as accessible as possible. l live in California and grass-fed, free-range eggs are $7.99 a dozen. I buy them because I can afford them. And I like them. They genuinely taste better. But I know that I am privileged to be able to do that and that most people cannot. So, Whole30 tells you to buy the best meat you can afford. But it does not even attempt to make it a rule, because that would not make it accessible to a whole lot of people. And how does a program that is only accessible to the wealthy really help? 

I hope this helps your understanding! I really, truly love this program. I love what it has done for me and I love the values that it promotes (I also adore Melissa Hartwig, who genuinely seems to be a truly lovely human being). I hope you find something great in it too! 

[kirbz]

I'm not sure it totally fits here but I also wanted to share a story...

I follow Melissa Hartwig on Instagram. The Whole30 program has recently been working to improve inclusion and diversity. As part of that effort, they started a Whole30 coaching scholarship, seeking to target individuals who would help the Whole30 program reach under-represented populations. One of the women who won a scholarship (and there were many), planned to help people who live below the poverty line figure out how to participate in and successfully complete a Whole30. I remember the passion and pride with which Melissa Hartwig shared this news on her Instagram feed. I felt pride too. 

How could that be possible if it was a requirement to eat only organic, grass-fed, or local? How could this program help those who are less fortunate learn to develop better eating habits and improve their relationship with food if it was unnecessarily expensive? Is it ideal? Perhaps not. But is it really, really good anyway? Absolutely. 

So yeah, structuring the rules to maximize the number of people you can reach is most definitely a good thing. 

*stepping off my soap box now; sorry if that seemed preachy or rude*