Santa Cruz student a finalist in PETA’s “Cutest Vegan Alive” contest

A 21-year-old Santa Cruz man is one of the top 10 male finalists competing for the title of PETA’s 2014 Cutest Vegan Alive contest.

Christian Garcia is among a final pool of 20 finalists in the ninth annual contest, sponsored by peta2, the organization’s youth division.

The pool includes 10 finalists who received the highest number of votes, plus another 10 finalists who were selected by peta2. The two winners—one male and one female—will win a professional photo shoot and a chance to star in their own peta2 ad. They’ll be selected based on several factors — including vote count.

Garcia is a student at UC Santa Cruz who went vegan two years ago, and competes on a team called PlantBuilt to raise money for animal sanctuaries and other animal rights charities.

To see all of the finalists and vote, click here. Voting ends July 3.