Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
Montgomery Village resident Kimberly Kruse, 26, is one of eight women remaining in the ‘‘Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door” contest sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The elimination-style online contest narrows the field of male and female contestants by counting votes cast on the Web.
Kruse, who chose to become a vegetarian for moral and health reasons six years ago, made it through the first stage on Tuesday, according to Lindsay Rajt, a PETA organizer.
PETA is hoping the contest buzz will help sway more than a few meat-eaters to their side.
The Web site to cast votes, www.GoVeg.com, had more than 108,000 visits through last week, with more than 22,000 people casting votes, Rajt said.
The seed of the idea was borne from PETA’s celebrity contest last year, where Kevin Eubanks, band leader of ‘‘The Tonight Show,” won for the men and ‘‘American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood won for the women.
In this year’s ‘‘next door” version, Kruse was one of 32 salad-loving, meat-shunning activists to make the cut from more than 1,000 entrants.
‘‘We made our selections based on sexiness, but also on compassion,” Rajt said.
Kruse, who was not available for comment, is finishing her doctoral work in clinical psychology at a youth center in Rockville, according to a press release. She ‘‘enjoys surfing, walks on the beach, biking, and canoeing the St. John’s River,” according to the Web site.
She has protested against cruelty in the chicken-farming industry and buys only cosmetics that are not tested on animals, according to PETA.
The winners, who will receive a seven-night vacation in Hawaii, will be announced in mid-March.
