When I began developing recipes, it was a different time. The internet was relatively new. No blogs. No social media. No tablets or smartphones. Websites existed with recipes, but there weren’t many, and the good ol’ cookbook was still the resource for recipes.
Fast forward 15+ years. Every recipe you can imagine or need is online, along with the author, accessible to address any questions! Recipes are abundant, to meet every dietary need and desire. How great, right?
It should be a great thing. Not just for readers, but also for bloggers and cookbook authors like me who are passionate about creating recipes and sharing them with the world.
Immediate and abundant access to recipes can be a great thing, but isn’t always.
Yes, it’s easier to share with you, our community. Yes, there are opportunities to create for other companies and organizations. Yes, it’s inspiring to see thousands of iterations of hummus and aquafaba recipes. (Surely half our neighborhoods should be vegan by now!)
However this easy access often means recipe creators have content shared, reprinted, repurposed, and reused all without proper credit or permission.
I know authors that have had their printed cookbook content copied and repurposed into kindle ebooks by other individuals. I know bloggers that have their recipe photos used by other sites without credit. Every day I see posts from bloggers of situations where their recipes, photos, or other content has been used in some way that they haven’t approved – and don’t benefit from.
Perhaps we should rise above it. Let it go. Be the bigger person.
Here’s the thing. As content creators, bloggers, and authors know – we already practice this daily. From comments on blogs to trolls on social media, we develop skills for not letting little things get to us. To respond to people with kindness, often because we know they are coming from a place that of sadness or fear. I meditate daily and do yoga and other practices to maintain perspective in my life and work habits. Otherwise, it’s almost impossible for me to have an online presence. I let a lot of stuff “go”.
But when it comes to the business of recipes, it’s different. As content creators we need to advocate for ourselves and the creative work we are bringing.
In recent months I have had two very popular recipes from Plant-Powered Families reprinted without my consent – and without credit – to large food and wellness sites. Since they have such large platforms my recipe was shared thousands of times, receiving up to a million views. Without mention to my work, or credit to my blog or social media pages.
In these two specific instances, the recipes were modified with an ingredient substitution – but the recipe is otherwise essentially intact. An ingredient is changed, or an ingredient added. So now it’s a new recipe? No. It’s not. It’s a recipe with a substitution.
Original recipes involve hours of imagination, testing, reworking, improving, editing, formatting, hiring photography, blogging, and then investing time (and sometimes money) in social media promotion.
This business of recipe repurposing is troublesome. Here’s why:
Recipe Integrity
For me, this work has always been rooted in my passion. My passion for my craft of delivering healthy recipes that do not lack flavor and texture – as well as showing people that these recipes are part of a larger way of living with more compassion.
The integrity of recipe development is very important to me. This integrity is diluted when recipes are modified and shared on other sites. Often the author is unaware, so their recipe is represented as something other than the original intent. While this acceptable when a recipe inspires another creation, it’s something entirely different when the recipe is identical from measurements to directions, with just one or two ingredients changed.
Revenue
Another, not insignificant consideration is that this work, while rooted in passion, is business. I’ve blogged many years without earning any revenue from my site. Yes, I earn money on book sales, but to date it hasn’t been enough to support myself, let alone my family.
Over the years, I realized that my work could – and should – bring in revenue. This is full-time work, and I give more than just the time and expense of developing recipes.
When recipes are reprinted, little to no traffic goes to the original recipe and blog. Sometimes a site will credit an author/blogger, but often the credit is so remote or hard to find that the reader doesn’t see the original source. So the reprinting bloggers or sites generate the traffic and revenue.
Recognition
Which brings me to my final point. Recognition of work. As a creative (and highly-sensitive) person, recognition of the work I contribute is important to me. While the highly sensitive voice in me might be saying “you’re being too sensitive”, my rational inner voice is saying “this is not acceptable”.
Perhaps this isn’t the case for other creators, but for me it is. It’s not simply ego. It feels good to know your recipe is loved and well-used. This motivates and inspires us to create more. Plus, it’s acknowledgement for hard work and commitment to your passion.
I know I’ve worked hard over the years. I also know my work has improved through my years of recipe developing. I’m proud of my work, and value my dedication when I could have (and almost did) stop working and blogging because of numerous challenges with blogging, publishing, and more.
I write this today for myself and also for all the other authors and bloggers in similar positions. It happens regularly, far more often than readers may know.
It is unjust, and not innocuous.
My appeal to you all is this: If you see content that you know or suspect belongs to another author or blogger, please contact them. Also please contact that site if the author isn’t duly acknowledged – or, if it’s very difficult to see and access that author acknowledgement. Also, if you follow and love a particular blogger’s work, please share that appreciation in cookbook reviews on amazon or elsewhere – in forums, FB groups, etc. Trust me, they appreciate it!
Having said that, I thank ALL OF YOU for being this support in my recipe world. Often, I learn of these recipe reprints from you. Thank you. I also feel your overall generosity and encouragement on facebook and by email, and it means a great deal. Know that I value it, and hold immense gratitude.
I hope this post helps other bloggers, and also sheds some light on issues that authors and recipe developers are working with. We need improvements with recipe usage online.
Let’s start a discussion on this, I welcome your feedback and ideas.
x Dreena
*Note: I am not identifying parties, as we are working to resolve it, and my purpose here is to incite change and awareness rather than negativity.
kdmi says
I was shocked the first time I saw an e-book on Amazon using recipes almost verbatim from other cookbook authors, without attribution. Then I was even more stunned when I learned that it happens a lot, all without much recourse for the author of the original material.
I spent years as a reporter in daily newspaper journalism where attribution of sources was sacrosanct. But as you note, these are new days. Unless content is locked down digitally in some way that is thief-proof, authors are not left with much in the toolbox for fighting back … yet.
But you note how you’ve let a lot of things go in working with the online experience. That’s a great thing, since it seems the only way to imagine innovative solutions to vexing problems is to remain in a clear-headed space, free from reactionary or defensive impulses.
So maybe one day all writers of online content will be thanking a centered-in-peace cookbook writer for finally discovering the ingenious way of protecting digitally-transmitted ideas!
Audrey @ unconventional Baker says
Thank you for taking the time to write what many of us feel, experience, and are pained/inconvenienced/discouraged/stressed out by on a regular basis. I’m sorry for the situation that propelled you to write this — can definitely relate. I know it must have been really stressful.
In fact your post is sadly timely. I literally just finished filing over a dozen DMCA complaints this afternoon. This is not how I want to spend my time, nor what I want to expand my energy on. At all. It’s the kind of stuff that subtly takes away a blogger’s will to share further. Why should we pour all my creative energy, love, passion, expertise into putting something out there knowing others will seize the opportunity to take it away from us and use it for their own profit…
Sometimes it’s innocent, much of the times it’s malicious. Either way, it’s not cool and is a huge drainage. Not to mention, we’re already overworked and underpaid — who has time to deal with theft notices and these unnecessary copyright situations as well. There’s a tipping point before it becomes suffocating and unbearable.
I also always reflect and wonder why on earth people who have no originality start food blogs — if your recipes consist of others’ recipes, why not just follow other blogs and be content? If you want a space to collate and gather recipes you love, why not simply link to them? And if you did in fact adapt something, why not give proper credit where credit is due. Nobody will look down upon you for using someone else’ recipe.. just tell them where they can find it — it’s quite simple. It’s mind boggling how many people come up with whole stories of how they came up with such and such a recipe when it’s painstakingly obvious it’s just been ripped off from another person… It’s also mind boggling that big networks, bloggers, and celebrities stoop to this level as well, blatantly taking advantage of creatives just because they assume they can get away with it..
What ever happened to kindness, support, mutual appreciation? Blogging and recipe sharing is meant to be a source of joy and inspiration — not an endless stream of legal paperwork, tackling recipe thieves and dealing with related awkwardness and unpleasant exchanges, or debating what to do when people take advantage of your work.
Lee says
I agree with your comment 100%. Honestly, I don’t see why it is so difficult to just admit that the recipe was inspired by someone else or even that you are trying someone else’s recipe! You are just saying you love their work and sharing their recipes! I love to try other people’s recipes and then try others by myself, and I feel it is a much greceful way to just admit so and to spread the love and kindness if you are being influenced by other blogger or person… Unfortunatelly it works less and less like this. I guess people just don’t care anymore and that just makes me sad.
Natalie Collins says
You deserve all the credit in your work, because it is very evident the time and effort that goes into your recipes – a little of this, a little of that, to create the perfect nuanced flavour profile. I know it takes a great deal of courage to stand up for yourself and your work in these cases, but I am so very happy that you do!
Much love and respect!
Kim says
So tell us, when is the recipe our own? At some point I no longer reference cookbooks I memorize the recipes that I enjoy making them my own with substitutions at cetera. At that point I consider them my own recipes period because after about 15 years or so I don’t even remember who wrote the original recipe and I’ve tweaked it enough that it is my own. What do you consider somebody own recipe?
Dreena says
I believe there’s a difference between recipe inspiration and recipe ‘repurposing’. There are many similar recipe ideas online, similar recipe names, etc. Also, there is a different expectation for individual users of recipes vs organizations and companies using the recipes.
Kristina says
well stated and as thoughtful as you are, my friend.
we are “the bigger person” who “lets it go” so SO often, and this is one area I just cannot. I don’t let it get to me anymore – it is simply an aspect of doing business and I have a quick and easy, effective method for removal, and it does not involve communication with the thief at all – that is where it gets frustrating and they know what they are doing. my thought is they are not worth my time, energy, frustration to argue that “they didn’t know” or “assistant did it” or even “exposure!”
I am sorry you are dealing with this – it is an unfortunate thing that came about from monetization of online content. I too remember the old days (WHEW – those were some epic times in blogging!)
xxo