COVID-19 Prompts Revamped Sexiest Vegan ‘Indoors’ Contest

PETA’s Annual Compassion Contest Seeks to Honor Those Who Help Fight Potential Pandemics With Every Meal

For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Every year, PETA sets out to find the “Sexiest Vegan Next Door”—but now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group’s annual competition has evolved into the Sexiest Vegan Indoors Contest: a celebration of people who are keeping animals off their plates—and finding creative ways to advocate for them—during social distancing. Two winners will each receive a trip for two to Hawaii, courtesy of Humane Travel, redeemable once it’s safe to travel.

The revamped contest comes as more people recognize the public health hazards associated with eating meat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75% of recent infectious diseases affecting humans began in other animals. The COVID-19 pandemic originated in a meat market, previous influenza viruses originated in pigs and chickens, and South Carolina is currently facing a new virulent strain of bird flu.

“From calling on the World Health Organization to shut down live-animal markets to posting pro-vegan signs on their homes and cars to leading socially distanced protests, vegans aren’t letting this pandemic stop them from helping animals,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s Sexiest Vegan Indoors Contest recognizes the superstars who are saving lives and fighting infectious diseases each time they sit down to eat.”

Entrants must be U.S. residents and at least 22 years of age. Previous finalists and winners are ineligible to enter. Entries must be received by May 7. On May 14, PETA will announce the 20 finalists—to be determined by a PETA panel—and voting will open to the public to help the group determine the winners, who will be revealed on June 4 and chosen based on several factors, including vote count. See the full contest details here.

Last year’s winners of the Sexiest Vegan Next Door Contest include Jasmine Nakasone, a licensed vocational nurse and popular vegan lifestyle blogger, and New York–based firefighter and five-time Ironman finisher Kevin Duffy. Other winners are profiled on PETA’s past winners page—and the group offers a free vegan starter kit for those interested in taking the plunge.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.