Military Members Are Finalists in PETA’s ‘Sexiest Vegan’ Contest

Navy Technician, Army Recruiter, and Ex–Army Linguist Battle It Out to Take Top Honors—and a Tropical Vacation

For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA is preparing to crown this year’s “Sexiest Vegan Next Door“—and two active-duty members and one former translator for the military are all vying for the title. They beat out hundreds of other entrants from across the nation to advance to the final round of 10 male and 10 female contestants. Visitors to PETA.org can help PETA select the winners—one man and one woman—who will each receive a free vacation for two to Maui, Hawaii, courtesy of Humane Travel.

• Navy technician Christopher Stanley  went vegan with his family in order to help his daughter alleviate the symptoms of her ulcerative colitis. In addition to establishing a vegan support group during a seven-month deployment on the USS Makin Island and encouraging many colleagues to go vegan, he promotes vegan eating on his Instagram account @NeverNotVegan.
• Melissa Jankowski  is an army recruiter from Washington, D.C., who uses her position to speak out about the benefits of vegan eating with soldiers and new recruits, and she always has PETA pamphlets at the ready to hand out. Her husband (a police officer), son, and daughter are also vegan.
• Born and raised in Baghdad, Sham Hasan  is a former senior interpreter for the U.S. Army who credits vegan eating—along with his three beloved feline companions—with drastically improving his symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, a sleep disorder, anxiety, and depression. He uses social media to show followers in the U.S. and Iraq how easy it is to veganize traditional Iraqi recipes, including dolma, Kubbat Halab, and baklava.

“These brave service members are committed to defending the vulnerable and standing up for justice—for everyone,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “All the finalists in PETA’s ‘Sexiest Vegan’ contest prove that a clear conscience and a compassionate heart are the secret ingredients to sexiness.”

Voting to help PETA determine which finalists it should select as the winners ends at 12 noon EDT on May 14. PETA will select the winners based on several factors, including vote count. See the full contest details here. Winners will be notified and announced on May 21.

For more information and to cast your vote, please click here.