Finalists Named in PETA Contest to Crown the Hottest Vegan Woman and Man

London – What do the 14 finalists in PETA's UK and Ireland's Hottest Vegan Competition2017 have in common with Jared Leto, Natalie Portman, Joaquin Phoenix, Jessica Chastain, and David Haye? They're all sizzling, sexy vegans! The seven female and seven male finalists beat out some fierce competition from around the British Isles.

Finalists Casey Rider, 22, from Bexhill-on-Sea; Chloe Valentine Whittock, 28, from Wales; Frankie Crossley, 23, from Bristol; Georgia Long, 22, from Reading; Kate Halgarth, 22, from Spalding; Misti Lekimenju, 19, from the Isle of Wight; Simone Murphy, 23, from Edinburgh; Colm Geary, 29, from Dublin; Dinarte Gouveia, 26, from Edinburgh; Jim Dilkes, 27, from Birmingham; Joshua Grierson, 24, from Ilford; Lawrence Crawford from York ; Mark Goodwin, 34, from Eastbourne; and Neil McGill, 30, from Moffat are all proud vegans and animal rights advocates.

"Vegans are, on average, slimmer and healthier and have more energy than their meat-eating peers – plus, there's nothing hotter than compassion," says PETA Director Elisa Allen. "Each one of the finalists in PETA's contest is a testament to how sexy vegans are – inside and out."

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to eat" – notes that each person who goes vegan spares many animals every year daily suffering and a terrifying death in today's industrialised meat, egg, and dairy industries. While vegans have big hearts, studies show that they have healthier ones, too: in addition to slashing their risk of developing heart disease, they're less prone to suffering from cancer, diabetes, and obesity and, on average, fitter and trimmer than meat-eaters are.

To see photographs and biographies of all the belles and beaux selected as finalists, click here. You can vote for your favourite contestants – one woman and one man – to let PETA know whom you think it should select as the winners. Each winner – one man and one woman – will receive an eight-course vegan taster menu for two at top London restaurant Gauthier Soho.

Voting on the finalists to help PETA determine the winners will run until 28 July. Winners will be chosen by PETA based on several factors, including vote count, and will be announced by 4 August. See the full contest details here.

All the finalists are available for interviews. For more information and to vote in the contest, please visit PETA.org.uk.