/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45240468/vivienne-westwood_11_2014.0.jpg)
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
British designer Vivienne Westwood is not one for subtle activism, but her recent comments during a protest came off more tone deaf than anything else. While participating in a petition against genetically modified food, a BBC press member asked her about solutions for people who can't afford to buy organic, non-genetically modified food due to how expensive it is. In response, she said that those people should "eat less."
She goes on to explain herself, a little. "You've got all these processed foods, which is the main reason people are getting fat," Westwood said. "They're not actually good for you—they don't give you strength, they give you weight. I eat vegetables and fruit. I don't eat meat. I believe meat is bad for me—I don't eat it. It's also bad for the animals. But if there was a movement to produce more organic food and less of the horrible food, then organic food would obviously be a good value price, wouldn't it?" The supply and demand argument would probably be more effective, though, without saying non-organic eaters should stop eating so much.
· Westwood Advises: "Eat Less" [Vogue UK]
· Vivienne Westwood Showers for PETA and the Environment [Racked]
· Model Elettra Weidemann Struggles With Healthy Eating, Just Like a Normal [Racked]