Long Island Teen Wins PETA Award for Adding Vegan Items to Pizza Restaurant's Menu

For Immediate Release:
April 12. 2010

Contact:
Shakira Croce  757-622-7382

Long Island, N.Y. -- After Jay Astafovic adopted a vegan diet, he realized that there was nothing that he could eat with a clear conscience at his family's Long Island restaurant, 3 Brothers Pizzeria. So before approaching his father about adding vegan pizzas to 3 Brothers' menu, Jay, who is now 17, did some research on nondairy cheeses. Today, the popular pizzeria offers a full selection of vegan dinner items.

For making life a little brighter for vegans on Long Island as well as for animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, Jay is receiving a Compassionate Teen Award from peta2, PETA's youth division.

"Jay shows how anyone--at any age--can make a difference for animals just by speaking up," says peta2 Director Dan Shannon.

Jay chose a vegetarian diet after watching PETA's "Meet Your Meat" video and eventually went vegan after learning more about how cows and chickens suffer in the dairy and egg industries. "Going vegan opened me to so many new foods," says Jay, who hopes to go to culinary school and open a vegan restaurant in New York City. "I then decided that I want to become a vegan chef and change the world of vegan cooking. I've been vegan for two years and it feels awesome!"

As word spreads about the new vegan menu items at 3 Brothers, a growing number of vegans from all over Long Island have started visiting the 30-seat restaurant, enjoying dishes such as baked ziti, penne alla vodka, eggplant rollatini, and seitan parmesan.

For more information, please visit peta2.com and the 3 Brothers Web site, 3brotherspizzeria.com.