Five-Year-Old Melbourne Boy Is Finalist in PETA’s ‘Cutest Vegan Kids’ Contest

Compassionate Kindergartner Who Wants to Save the Planet Seizes National Spotlight

For Immediate Release:
April 7, 2016

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Five-year-old Melbourne resident Evan LeFevre has just been named one of the top four male finalists in PETA Kids’ 2016 Cutest Vegan Kids contest—and now it’s up to voters to help PETA Kids decide whether he’ll take home the top prize. Two winners—one boy and one girl—will each receive a trophy, an animal-friendly prize pack, and a year’s worth of bragging rights.

Evan says he’s vegan to “save the Animals” and “to save the Planet,” adding that “we don’t need to hurt others to eat yummy & healthy food, to be healthy & grow big & strong.” He says that he likes spicy food best, and he counts barbecue jackfruit sandwiches and burritos among his favorites. Evan’s mother is also vegan, and his grandfather recently made the switch at age 70.

Evan’s family has a Facebook page with posts about following a vegan lifestyle—including videos by Evan such as this freestyle rap and this clip that explains that Thanksgiving is about family, not food, which got over 12,000 views in three days. The kindergartner has even designed his own T-shirt featuring a vegan motto that he wrote at age 4: “Don’t eat cows because they suffer & die. They don’t like it & neither do I!!!”

“Evan is an effective advocate for animals, and his passion for being vegan is contagious,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “PETA Kids views all the contestants as winners because they prove that even the littlest person can make a big difference for animals.”

PETA Kids—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that more people are drawn to the benefits of vegan meals every year, including better health, a smaller carbon footprint, and saving the lives of more than 100 animals per vegan annually.

Voting on the finalists is open until April 15 and will help PETA Kids determine the winners, who will be announced on April 18. The decision will be based on several factors, including vote count. See the full contest details here and the main contest page at PETAKids.com/CutestVegan.