Their combined 45 years of meat-free eating may have given Woody Harrelson and Jessica Chastain the edge they needed to vault to the top of PETA's annual Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities contest.
The vegan duo triumphed over a field of 100 of Hollywood’s hottest herbivores, despite facing stiff competition from Michelle Pfeiffer, Venus Williams, Ben Stiller, Anne Hathaway, Bill Clinton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ellen DeGeneres, and Joaquin Phoenix, among others.
Academy Award nominee Chastain, who wowed audiences in The Tree of Life and Take Shelter, has been a vegetarian for 15 years and a vegan for five and even had vegan fried chicken prepared for her on the set of The Help. “I don’t want to torture anything,” she says. “[I]t’s about trying to live a life where I’m not contributing to the cruelty in the world …. While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.”
It’s no secret that Harrelson—the acclaimed star of The Hunger Games, Rampart, and a slew of other blockbuster films—is an advocate for animals and for the environment. But when it comes to the health benefits of a vegan diet, Harrelson—who recently celebrated his 50th birthday—lets his body speak for itself. “I just let people see my energy and how strong I stay,” he says.
Millions of people around the globe are embracing meat-free lifestyles in order to promote animal welfare, combat environmental destruction, or better their own health. PETA makes transitioning to a plant-based diet easy with the group’s free vegetarian/vegan starter kits, which are available here.
Previous winners of PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities contest include Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Olivia Wilde, Carrie Underwood, Prince, Natalie Portman, Shania Twain, Leona Lewis, André 3000, Tobey Maguire, and Alicia Silverstone.
Source: PETA
