Only nine other Sultry Soy Boys stand in the way of journalism junior Drew Winter's chance at vegetarian glory.

Winter already has beat out about 700 other people who entered the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's, or PETA's, Sexiest Vegetarian contest in hopes of being one of 20 finalists — 10 men and 10 women.

For Winter, becoming a finalist still hasn't sunk in yet.

"I just put my arms up in the air and yelled and hopped. I was incredibly flattered and elated by it," he said. "It is hard to describe. I am still trying to convince myself that I am part of something so big and something that has such a positive impact on people and vegetarianism."

But the public will decide who the winner will be via voting on www.goveg.com for their favorite vegetarian.

Animal rights, mad cow disease, weight loss. Whatever the reason is, converting to vegetarianism — abstaining from meat, fish and poultry — has continued to become a popular trend and lifestyle change for many.

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group's, or VRG's, 2006 national poll, almost 7 percent of adults in the United States never eat meat. Among the top reasons for becoming vegetarian were health, ecological reasons and compassion for animals.

An avid weight lifter, Winter made the choice to go vegetarian for a healthier, more animal- and environment-friendly lifestyle.

"I am a vegan," he said. "I do not eat meat, dairy, eggs or honey. I do not purchase leather or fur products."

Winter has been a vegetarian for eight months and a vegan for about three. He said the PETA videos he saw about the meat industry greatly affected his decision.

PETA's videos feature animals being scalded alive or sliced open while conscious, said Pulin Modi, the college campaign coordinator for www.peta2.com.

"It really bothered me that by eating meat, I was contributing to that," Modi said.

Winter's diet staples include dried and frozen fruits, which he uses to make smoothies, whole-wheat bread, soy milk and vegan burgers made from black beans.

"I also eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They are a big part of my diet," he said.

A resident of West Shaw Hall, Winter has a meal plan and regularly eats in the cafeteria. After seeing a lack of vegetarian and vegan options, he dropped off a vegan cookbook at the hall and said more items have since become available.

"They have been pretty responsive about it," he said. "They could certainly do more, but they have been good about accommodating."

Since becoming a vegetarian, Winter said his health has been great. He found he requires less sleep and has seen no effect on his weight-lifting routine.

"It is just a choice that is healthy, and it can make people feel good about themselves. It is good for the environment, and they are really contributing to alleviating the suffering for animals," he said. "It is cool being veg. It is something that everyone can do."

Vegetarianism can be either a diet or a lifestyle, said John Cunningham, consumer research manager for VRG. He added that it depends on how the individual chooses to alter their consumption habits.

"Veganism is more of a lifestyle — you are avoiding to the extent that you can the use all animal products," he said.

According to the group, a vegan — a more specific type of vegetarian — does not eat any animal products, including meat, fish, fowl, eggs and dairy.

Cunningham said the U.S. vegetarian surge began in the 1980s with the animal rights movement, led by PETA, and an increase in health-conscious consumption.

After the first mad cow issue hit the media in the 1990s, fisheries and wildlife junior Jessica Owens stopped eating beef at the age of 8. Eleven years later, she watched PETA's video about animal production and slaughter — it was all she needed to officially decide to become a vegan.

Advertising senior Nicole Meek started her vegetarian lifestyle at a young age, as well.

When she was 14, her older sister became a vegetarian after listening to a lecture from a high school health teacher. Meek decided to follow in her footsteps.

Six years later, she still is a vegetarian and said she feels extremely healthy.

"I'm really health conscious," she said. "I make sure that I eat certain food groups, even though I'm not eating meat."

Meek's only concern about being a vegetarian? Getting enough protein.

"It's something that you have to be careful about," she said. "Sometimes I'm worried that I'm not eating enough protein, so I'll have protein shakes."

In the years that followed, the number of vegetarians and vegans has increased, Cunningham said.

"Since we started taking polls in the mid-90s, the number of vegetarians in the United States has doubled," he said. "It has kind of plateaued in the recent years to about 2.5 (percent) to 3 percent."

However, more people are choosing the more extreme lifestyle today.

"The number of vegans as a portion of the vegetarian population has grown drastically," Cunningham said.

Changes in U.S. culture have aided the growth in popularity of vegetarianism and veganism.

"There has definitely been a greater acceptance of vegetarianism in society as a whole in the last 20 years," Cunningham said. "People used to look at it suspiciously — there has really been a shift in how vegetarianism is perceived."

Today, he said the main reason people choose to become vegetarians or vegans is animal rights.

But is it safe?

After two months of being a vegan, Owens found she wasn't able to obtain all the nutrients she needed, so she became a basic vegetarian.

"You have to make sure you're eating your veggies, fruit and trying new things as much as possible," she said. "Eating noodles and bread alone is not being a vegetarian."

A low-fat vegetarian diet that is high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and nutrients is very good for your body, Cunningham said.

Vegetarians and vegans have lower risks of three major killers — heart disease, stroke and cancer — Modi said, along with lower rates of obesity.

"A vegan diet has no cholesterol," he said. "And that's something that a lot of people don't know."

Cunningham added that a vegetarian diet is not limited to certain age ranges.

In VRG polls, the group found the number of vegetarians included fell in a wide range of ages. However, most lie in the 20-30 age range, he said, because people moving out on their own for the first time often change their diets when faced with the new freedom of choice.

With more vegetarian-friendly products available on the market today, people of all eating habits and preferences can turn to the shelves of their local grocery stores for meat-free alternatives.

"Health-conscious consumers are definitely part of the target market for people who make vegetarian products — not just vegetarians," he said.

While some vegetarians are in it purely for the health benefits, both Owens and Winter said they are animal-welfare advocates.

"There is nothing wrong with either way," Owens said. "With all the grain we use to feed herds of livestock, we could be feeding starving families overseas."

Winter said he wants to educate students about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.

"Going veg is a simple and tangible way to help solve the problems associated with the meat industry," he said. "More vegetarians means less meat output. More people going veg means more people supporting an environmentally friendly diet. More people eating healthy means less disease and health care costs."

Matt Prescott, manager of the vegan campaign for PETA, said while the Sexy Vegetarian contestants entered for different reasons — such as improving health or helping animals — all of them are fit, sexy and don't eat animals.

"Many people find not eating meat to be a total turnoff," he said. "Showing the public that vegetarians are more compassionate and sexier than meat-eaters is a great way to turn people on to the benefits of going meat-free."