Corning Boy Crowned PETA’s 2015 Cutest Vegan Kid

Compassionate 5-Year-Old’s Love for Animals Steals National Spotlight With PETA Kids Win

For Immediate Release:
April 13, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Five-year-old Corning resident Matthew Drehmer has stolen hearts across the nation—and it’s thanks to his big heart for animals. Matthew has just been chosen as the male winner of PETA Kids’ 2015 Cutest Vegan Kids contest, beating out dozens of kids 12 and under to take home the title, along with a year’s worth of bragging rights, a trophy, and a cruelty-free prize pack.

“Matthew’s kindness and determination to help animals shine through everything he does, both at home and in his community,” says PETA Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “Every vegan kid is setting a great example for people of all ages and making the world a better place by the forkful.”

When Matthew’s mom explained that using animals for meat, eggs, and dairy products hurts them, he dropped them on the spot—at just 3 years old. Matthew is always excited to share his favorite animal-friendly foods, including oatmeal banana cookies and tasty veggie burgers, with other kids at sleepovers. And he hasn’t stopped there: Matthew convinced the manager of a local restaurant to add more vegan foods to the kids menu and even saved all his birthday money last year to share with groups that help animals. Matthew loves playing with rescued pup Shelby and helping his mom make delicious fresh juices.

PETA Kids—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—selected the winners based on several factors, including vote count. For more information, please visit PETAKids.com/CutestVegan.