Sep09
Body by Broccoli
Posted at 03:59 PM | Permalink
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Comments (16)
Last week's season premiere of America's Next Top Model brought something a little different to the fashionable catwalk. Elina, a super-hot Seattleite, is a vegan who is very involved with animal rights! In fact, she went vegan at the age of 7 and has since dedicated her life to avenging the cruelty done to animals in this world. The 18-year-old is the first vegan to appear on ANTM, which is now in its 11th cycle.
As an avid fan of the show, I must admit that I've been a bit bummed that a few episodes have featured fur and leather in some of the shoots, especially since Tyra doesn't wear it and the lovely and lovable Nigel Barker is staunchly anti-fur! How MUCH do we love him?!
We were also bummed when the models were asked to pose wearing meat. Then again, meat is so gross we think that we might have gotten a few extra vegetarians out of it—hope springs eternal. When asked by Tyra if she would have been able to participate in the slaughterhouse photo shoot, Elina unwaveringly said "No!"
It will no doubt be interesting to see what Tyra throws Elina's way this season. We wish you the best of luck, Elina. Go rock the runway with vegan style!
Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky
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Comments
SHE'S GREAT ! I WISH WHEN I WAS 18 YEARS OLD, THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN A VEGAN. I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER UNTIL I GOT MUCH OLDER. SHE IS VERY CARING AND EDUCATED TO ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND HAS MADE THE DECISION TO BE CRUELTY-FREE. SHE HAS BRAINS AND GOOD LOOKS. I WISH HER THE BEST ! SHE HAS MY VOTE !!! YOU GO GIRL !
Posted by: SASHA | September 9, 2008 04:13 PM
Woooooo! This is exciting. I love ANTM!
Posted by: Canaduck | September 9, 2008 04:36 PM
She's beautiful.
I don't live in the US so I can't vote but I say SPREAD THE WORD AND VOTE FOR HER :o)
Posted by: Amanda | September 9, 2008 05:46 PM
I love how she's going on the show for a reason bigger than herself. I absolutely love ANTM and I'll be routing for her throughout the whole competition. Even if she's wasn't a vegan I would think she's still cool.
And omg is Nigel Barker so charming or what?
Posted by: Amanda | September 9, 2008 05:59 PM
i love ANTM and i was very disapointed by the fact that meat and fur had been featured on the show... this will be excellent having a vegan on the show...
Posted by: nicole | September 10, 2008 01:34 AM
Good for her! The only thing that sucks is that if she wins is that she's got a Cover Girl contract....Proctor & Gamble..ie animal testing...Wouldn't it be great if she won but said "no thanks" to the contract until they stopped animal testing..that would be THE BEST statement ever!!!
Posted by: Courtney | September 10, 2008 09:27 AM
That's cause Nigel is a Brit!! Woohoo! Go Britain ;)
Posted by: Matt | September 10, 2008 11:21 AM
For the person who said they wished they were a vegan at 18- um, ok. As long as you are the person you wanna be now- age doesn't make a difference. I ate meat for 26 years and am now 27 years old. I don't regret one single thing about the fact that I ate meat. I was raised as a meat eater and have no regrets about it. I liked meat, didn't know the difference and I didn't care. My attitude is different now and that's what matters most.
Good luck to that model. I don't think in that business you could be extremely successful with being a vegan. But anything's possible I suppose.
Posted by: bbr | September 10, 2008 12:17 PM
hey, I am in middle school and I have a huge problem, I have been a really strict vegetarian 4 like 5 years, butI realized only a month ago the horrors of dairy and eggs, I have been not eating anything thts not vegan 4 about 3 weeks, and I have been lying 2 my parents about it, I am beggining 2 feel really week cause I can't even eat any of the veggie meat we have in the house, but I NO 4 A FACT my parents won't let me go vegan. I NEED 2 $ THE ANIMALS THO! WHAT DO I DO???????
Posted by: luv4allanimals | September 10, 2008 03:41 PM
It sounds like this is the first non-meat eater out of all of the models in 11 seasons. I guess the people behind the show aren't looking to use the show to make a statement by going out of their way to cast veggies. If there have been 11 seasons of attractive, fit, strong young women and they have all eaten meat, the producers aren't trying to showcase the lifestyle, I guess.
Posted by: angela | September 10, 2008 04:10 PM
luv4allanimals, what you are doing is extremely unhealthy. A vegan diet is a wonderful thing but you must do it properly. First off I would suggest talking to a counsellor at your school to try and figure out a way to present this to your parents so that they will support you. If your parents are anything like mine they are well aware veganism is in your future and are probably preparing for it. You can also try and approach your parents on the grounds that it is healthier, greener and kinder to be vegan and that this is a lifestyle choice that you have made. Most people are thrown off by vegans because it makes them reflect on the cruelties that they support. In regards to your veggie meats. EAT THEM. If they have milk or egg in them the damage is already done and the animals have already suffered. By not eating them and throwing them out all those cows and chickens will have ended up suffering for nothing. My suggestion to you is to suck it up and finish the rest of it but go grocery shopping with your parents and when it comes to choosing your food pick vegan alternatives. Tofurkey and Yves make vegan "meats". If your parents ask why you are changing just say that it is because you want to try something different. Don't kill yourself trying to keep a secret that you should be most proud of.
Posted by: Jason Sydney Norton | September 10, 2008 06:28 PM
Wow—that savvy and compassionate at the age of seven. Obviously a very bright and beautiful lady!
Posted by: Mike Quinoa | September 11, 2008 03:24 PM
i love this show :) but she said that she went vegan when she was in 7th grade not 7 yrs old. good for her for being vegan :)
Posted by: arabella | September 11, 2008 08:08 PM
it sucks that ANTM is sponsered by cover girl though..
have they stopped testing on animals yet?
Posted by: nikki | September 12, 2008 11:09 PM
She's not a true vegan, period!
If she were, she wouldn't be on ANTM, hoping to win a contract with Cover Girl, and having to use all their products. She's a hypocrite, or a complete idiot who doesn't know what being a vegan truly is. OR, just has no idea the cruel tests Proctor and Gamble do to animals. She puts all of us "True Vegan" to shame.
Posted by: sarah | September 23, 2008 05:06 PM
It sounds like this is the first non-meat eater out of all of the models in 11 seasons.
Naima is a vegetarian.
And the whole 'True Vegan' thing? For goodness sake, it's statements like that that alienate people from veganism. We all do what we can. Even if it's just my parents not eating meat 3 times a week, it's still awareness. Stop being so rigid and a lot more people will start seeing things your way. People do the best that they can and that's all we can ask.
P.s. I'm sure Elina wore leather shoes on the show.
Posted by: Frances | January 30, 2009 01:16 AM