Southern California Students Among Finalists in peta2's 'Cutest Vegetarian' Contest

The Vote Is On as Placentia and Long Beach Residents Beat Out More Than 3,000 Contenders

For Immediate Release:
May 25, 2010

Contact:
Marta Holmberg  757-622-7382

Los Angeles -- What do 15-year-old Placentia resident Kylie Gruss and 20-year-old Long Beach resident Joel Alatorre have in common with country music cutie Kellie Pickler and Heroes cutie Milo Ventimiglia? Pickler and Ventimiglia were winners of PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contest, and Gruss and Alatorre are finalists in the spin-off Cutest Vegetarian Alive contest sponsored by peta2, PETA's youth division. Gruss and Alatorre beat out more than 3,000 contestants from across the U.S. Supporters can vote for their hometown favorites by visiting peta2.com or by clicking here. Two winners (one male and one female) will be announced on June 8, and each will win a professional photo shoot and star in a peta2 ad.

"More and more Americans are going vegetarian every day, and young people are leading the charge," says peta2 director Dan Shannon. "It's no wonder: Vegetarians are slimmer, trimmer, and healthier, on average, than meat-eaters, so they're bound to be a lot cuter too!"

Gruss has been a vegetarian for three years. She made the compassionate decision to change her diet after learning about how animals suffer on factory farms and after watching PETA's hard-hitting video "Meet Your Meat." She enjoys art and photography as well as passing out leaflets about the benefits of a healthy and humane vegetarian diet.

A college sophomore, Alatorre was a vegetarian for three years before going vegan one year ago. He made the compassionate decision to change his diet after learning about how animals suffer on factory farms and has lost weight and lowered his cholesterol since going vegan. He enjoys attending demonstrations, video screenings, and discussions to promote a vegetarian diet and plans to organize a vegan barbecue fundraiser for his 21st birthday to benefit animal rights.

To view photos and bios of all the finalists and to vote in the contest, please click here.