Ramona Resident Mimi Kirk is in the Top 10 of a nationwide contest.
Due to a steadily increasing number of vegetarians, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been holding the contest for several years in a search of sexy vegetarians.
Perhaps most known for controversial tactics on behalf of animal rights, the organization has begun to garner attention in a new way. The annual search for sexy vegetarians has branched out to include a specific category for those over 50—and that’s where Kirk is a finalist.
Though nearly 71 (with a birthday next month), Kirk can easily pass for someone decades younger. Sporting a sleeveless top, form fitting jeans (size 6 or 8, depending on the style), and an incredible smile, Kirk has been selected as one of the 10 female finalists in the contest.
With most competitors 20 years younger, Kirk remains in the running as a formidable opponent.
“I was on my Facebook account,” said Kirk, “when one of those sidebars popped up announcing the contest and I thought to myself Why not?”
Kirk admits not really planning on anything coming of it in the beginning, but, as the entrants have been sorted and sifted, Kirk is standing strong in the selection of finalists.
Old enough to be the mother of all but three of the other finalists, Kirk said, “I got an e-mail saying I was one of the top 10. Now I started thinking, if I could win this at 70—wouldn’t that be a hoot and a half? I don’t even know what winning really entails, but I would be able to share my lifestyle and what I believe in with so many people.”
Kirk believes women are the “healers” of the planet.
“It is so important to keep ourselves mentally and physically adjusted to ensure the health of many generations to come,” she said.
Kirk went vegetarian about 40 years ago after realizing a desire to not harm animals. With a boyfriend 19 years younger than she, the only things seemingly missing in Kirk’s life are the aches, pains and “bat-wings” that most people take for granted as they age.
Admiring Kirk’s slender frame might make one think of the hours spent exercising to maintain such a petite size. Not so. Admitting a preference to qigong (pronounced chee-gung), a self-healing art that combines movement and meditation, Kirk said she’s been “diligent through the years, but sporadic” about walking on a treadmill.
She claims that a vegan, “raw” diet does most of the work to maintain the svelte figure that still sports miniskirts and tank tops even after seven decades of life on this planet.
After starting to suffer the beginnings of arthritis in extremities, Kirk switched to an “all raw” diet a year ago. It cleared up the arthritis as well as lowered high blood pressure and dropped cholesterol levels by 26 points, she said. “I do a detox once in awhile, but, since I switched to an all raw diet, my weight stays the same and I do not have any pain in my body at all. I swear I feel like I am 20!”
According to PETA, Kirk is following a similar lifestyle choice to that of Prince, Sir Paul McCartney and former super model Christie Brinkley. While live, fresh food takes a little more time to prepare than popping a pizza in the oven, the benefits, according to Kirk, far outweigh any imagined inconvenience.
Though Kirk’s boyfriend Mike Mendell has not yet embraced the same lifestyle, he is beginning to learn about the energy and health benefits of a vegetarian diet. “He isn’t a complete vegetarian, but we don’t even cook animal products in the house anymore.”
Turning friends and family onto raw foods, Kirk stresses that, even if a person does not go “all raw,” any addition of living foods into a person’s diet is highly beneficial.
“I have raw desserts that anyone would eat,” she said. “Think about it. If that is all a person did with raw foods, it would still be better than the other things they are eating!”
“Think about it,” continued Kirk excitedly, “I decided in my 30s I could eat healthier. I made the decision to stop harming animals and to make choices that would be kinder on the environment and help the planet. Now I see people in my age bracket today and see how they feel—what kind of medications they are taking and even how they move. I like feeling this way. I can jump out of bed every day and feel fantastic.”
How many people even in their 50s can say that?
“I use all biodegradable products in my home and on my skin with no animal ingredients,” said Kirk. “I use organic products but at times just coconut oil on my skin. I think people get grumpy because they don’t feel good. How can you be in a good mood when you don’t feel well? If you are overweight or eating the wrong foods, you simply are not going to feel good.
“I feel that you will be better with your family, once you are feeling good about yourself.”
Kirk loves to use the Google search engine on the Internet.
“I look up everything,” she said. “If the doctor tells me I have high blood pressure, I google it to find a natural alternative and then do it.”
Kirk claims to know people who have used the raw food lifestyle to clear up diabetes, arthritis and several other diseases common to an aging population.
According to Kirk, it’s easy to be a vegetarian.
“Wherever you go these days, it is available,” she said. “You can always find vegetarian food these days and it really isn’t that difficult to find organic foods, either. People worry about protein but, really, most people eat too much of it. There is natural protein in the greens and I eat nuts—but you don’t need many.”
Kirk admits to not being a “fanatic” about organic foods when going to restaurants, but specifically avoids the conventionally grown fruits and vegetables that are known to be more contaminated because of pesticides.
The lack of wrinkles on supple arms is an obvious testimony that, whatever Kirk is doing, it works.
Voting for PETA’s “Sexy vegetarians over 50” continues through Aug 14. To check out the other “hunky herbivores” and “voluptuous vegetarians,” or to cast a vote for Kirk, go to www. PETAPrime.org.
