Presidential debate moderator Candy Crowley likes getting into meaty issues—but not into meat. Maybe it was her vegetarian diet that gave her enough energy to keep the candidates in line?

Newly vegan Kristen Bell doesn't miss an opportunity to advocate for animals—and she doesn't miss dairy products, either. "[H]onestly, there are so many good substitutes available now that I really don't miss anything," she told Shape magazine. Kristen also mentioned that as much as she loves sloths, she would never keep one because, she says, "I don't support the exotic animal trade."

Salma Hayek agrees. She told Jimmy Fallon, "I am completely against people having exotic animals as pets. This is completely, completely wrong." Gushing about her passion for rescue, she rattled off all the animals who inhabit her estate, adding, "See, I had no husband, no children. I only had my animals, and I'm not going to get rid of them just because I fell in love, and, you know, motherhood. "

Ben Stiller realizes that exotic animals don't belong behind bars, either. The funnyman got serious when asked how he feels about zoos, saying, "I used to be for it. Now I'm against it. I don't love zoos; I've taken my kids to them but I saw that documentary a couple of years ago, The Cove, and that affected me in terms of knowing how these dolphins get into these dolphin parks. So I stopped supporting them." What else have Stiller and his family stopped supporting? The meat and dairy industries—Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, are vegan and are helping their kids embrace veganism, too.

The winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, Sharon Needles, embraced flesh of the human variety for her Halloween-themed pro-vegetarian ad for PETA. Drag royalty Lady Bunny was one of the multitude of folks speaking up for animals on Twitter this week, posting her excitement about the new ad:

Leonardo DiCaprio knows that sometimes you need a little more than 140 characters, so he is devoting his Facebook page to the protection of whales, orcas, seals, and penguins. The actor asked for support for the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, which aims to create "the world's largest network of marine protected areas."

Pamela Anderson is ready to take her advocacy for horses face to face: She invited New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on a date! Pam is set to host a gala that will benefit the campaign to replace horse-drawn carriages with eco-friendly replicas of classic cars, and she thinks that if Quinn attends, the speaker will reconsider her support of the horse-drawn carriage industry.

To keep up with what your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

Forks Over Knives continues to change the way that America eats. Kristen Bell and fiancé Dax Shepard have both gone vegan after seeing it.

Another awesome Kristin—Kristin Chenoweth—is throwing her support behind her Glee costar Lea Michele's campaign to get horse-drawn carriages out of New York City. Chenoweth tweeted her disgust at seeing the miserable horses and is asking the New York City Council to ban the carriages.

Anjelica Huston is taking a stand against horse-drawn carriages while working in New York. The Smash star criticized the cruel carriage industry on Piers Morgan Tonight, and guest host Rosie O'Donnell agreed, "It does seem absurdly cruel." Anjelica continued speaking out for animals, deeming it "unconscionable" to orphan baby apes and force them to act.

And as always, Ricky Gervais continues to keep Twitter abuzz for animals, this week posting, "you can't justify torturing an animal for a shampoo."

Photo: Robert Sebree; Makeup: Chantal Moore for The Cloutier Agency

Steve-O agrees that animals don't belong in laboratories. He wrote to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California to ask her to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, which would ban the use of chimpanzees in experiments.

Fellow vegan and tattoo aficionado Travis Barker is raising health-conscious, animal-friendly kids who share their dad's penchant for vegan eating.

Nikki Reed and husband Paul McDonald welcomed a new "kid" into their family—a beautiful rescued dog.

To keep up on all the latest celebrity animal news, follow @PETA on Twitter.

Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz just went vegan and wrote about it on his blog:

George Clooney

Just when you thought George Clooney couldn't get any sexier, check out what he told the media at the Golden Globes: "I've always had dogs. I've almost always had them out of the pound. Seems like a good place. They have a lot of them. It brings me a lot of joy to do it and they seem like the happiest dogs in the game. I only have one, but he eats for, like, four."

Jessica Chastain

Academy Award–nominee and vegan beauty Jessica Chastain was spotted walking her pooch, who doesn't seem to be slowed down a bit by having only three legs. We wouldn't be surprised if Jessica were an advocate of rescuing!

Kristen Bell

Gracing the February cover of Self magazine, Kristen Bell asked readers to tweet questions for her to answer in the mag. When a fan asked her about being vegetarian, Kristen responded, "I've been a vegetarian since I was 11, because I couldn't understand why if we didn't eat the dog I should eat a burger. I love animals, and I stand by my values."

Ke$ha, The Ready Set, Daniel Bryan, and More!

Another group of animal lovers just snagged big honors from peta2. Ke$ha, The Ready Set, Daniel Bryan, and many more celebs received Libby Awards for their work to protect animals. Check out peta2.com to see the winners and nominees.

Waka Flocka Flame proudly shows that he is a card-carrying member of PETA. Join him by becoming a member today!

Could be because it’s almost the first day of summer. Nah, it’s definitely PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2011 contest. Voting has begun to help us narrow down the 100 male and female nominees to our top five in each group who make our little veggie-loving hearts skip a beet beat.
 

 
So, which hunk of Bocacake gets your vote? Bill Clinton or a Beatle? Joaquin’s sexy smile or Jared Leto and those baby blues?  Could it be a bi-coastal competition of funny man Russell Brand against easy-on-the-eyes Casey Affleck?

And which veggie vixen will walk away with the top prize? Will it be the battle of the A-team, Aimee and Anne? Or could it all come down to the Kristens – Wiig and Bell? Maybe the inventor of sexy, Pamela Anderson, will stage a coup?
 

Let us know who you think we should name the finalists! This year, for the first time, voting will take place on Twitter using the hash tag #sexyvegceleb, but you can also use the voting page. Let us know who you think we should pick by June 17 and stay tuned for the swoon-worthy finalists. 
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

  
 
You've heard that you can look to the stars for direction, and when it comes to compassion for animals, these stars are illuminating guides:  

• Lifelong vegetarian Aimee Teegarden is sleeping a lot easier under the Friday Night Lights now that she's ditched dairy. 
• Which former Hardee's hawker now says vegetarian eats are "tops"?
• Vegetarian Kristen Bell talks tuna and explains why sushi is a "no-sankyu."
• Glenn Beck might be leaving Fox, but he'll be looking foxy thanks to his new vegan diet.
• After working hard on her new album, Emmylou Harris goes to the dogs.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Peter Dinklage © Starmax

 
Compassionate celebrities want a little less conversation and a little more action. Somebody alert the Elvis Presley fan club:

• Were there vegetarians in medieval times? There might be at least one in HBO's Game of Thrones, if Peter Dinklage has anything to say about it.
• Sexiest vegetarian Kristen Bell loves bluefin tuna—swimming freely in the ocean, of course.
• Fur won't fly on Delta airlines. They assured us that Eva Longoria's throw is faux.
• Like mother, like dogter. Mom-to-be Alicia Silverstone is already a mom to several rescued dogs, and she encourages everyone to adopt too. Proud pooch parent? You, too, can rock a tee like Alicia's. 
• Ted Danson's new book cheers efforts to combat overfishing and tells everyone how they can help save the oceans.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

gage skidmore/cc by 2.0

We just told you about the Fun, Fearless (Animal-Loving!) Males of 2011, and now the girls are getting their turn. AskMen released its 10^th annual Top 99 Most Desirable Women list, and so many animal-friendly ladies were included that it can't be a coincidence—it's hot to be compassionate!

Several Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity alums ranked high on the list, including Natalie Portman, Kristen Bell, and reigning Sexiest Vegetarian Olivia Wilde. 

Some possible contenders for future Sexiest Vegetarian honors are among the Top 99 Most Desirable as well. Lovely Glee star Dianna Agron loves her veggies, and Anne Hathaway recently added fish to her "friends, not food" list, bidding adieu to sushi. Katy Perry has been singing the praises of eating Tofurky with vegetarian hubby Russell Brand, so it might not be long before his diet rubs off on her.

So many of the Top 99 ladies have done public service announcements for PETA that we wonder if AskMen searched our ads for its candidates. Vegan Lea Michele is a staunch defender of horses used in the horse-drawn carriage industry and of animals killed for their fur. Lea's abhorrence of fur is shared by Eva Mendes, who narrated an anti-fur video for PETA, and by Natalie Imbruglia, who starred in an anti-fur exposé for PETA Australia.

Rounding out our picks of delightful, desirable damsels is PETA pal Olivia Munn, who isn't shy about standing up for animals who are abused in circuses and puppy mills. 

Written by Michelle Sherrow