Local 11-Year-Old Crowned PETA’s Cutest Vegan Kid of 2019

Acrobatic Gymnast Is Living Proof of the Power of Eating Vegan

For Immediate Release:
June 18, 2019

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

Already an elite-level acrobatic gymnast at the age of 11, Eshiana Coleman might just be headed to the Olympics someday—and as she’s been proud to tell audiences at vegan festivals throughout California, she’s doing it all powered by vegan meals. In recognition of her passion, she’s been chosen the winner of PETA Kids’ 2019 Cutest Vegan Kid Contest, earning a special prize pack filled with goodies, including a personalized trophy.

“Eshiana nabbed PETA Kids’ Cutest Vegan Kid title for proving that people of all ages can make the world a better place for animals,” says PETA Senior Director Marta Holmberg. “Whether she’s demonstrating how athletes can thrive on vegan meals or encouraging friends and family members to make kind choices, Eshiana sets a shining example of compassion for everyone to follow.”

Eshiana went vegetarian at the age of 5—and two years later, she learned how the egg and dairy industries also hurt animals and immediately went vegan. Since then, she’s inspired her mother and her grandmother to go vegan (her father was already vegan) and she encourages her classmates and friends to try animal-free food every chance that she gets. She’s careful not to wear animal skins, and she wants to be a vegan activist and an author when she grows up.

PETA Kids—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. The group selected the winner and runner-up based on several factors, including vote count. This year’s runner-up, 10-year-old Leo Dorsey of Atlanta, is also an athlete: He’s a football player who wants to play for the NFL when he grows up.

For more information, please visit PETAKids.com.