INVC,,
Mumbai,,
The competition to be named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2012 was fierce, with early leaders Neha Dhupia and Shahid Kapoor as well as Sonu Sood, Dhanush, Kareena Kapoor and Hema Malini putting up a real fight. But now, after thousands of votes were cast to help PETA India choose the winners, the results are in, with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and The Dirty Picture star Vidya Balan taking top honours. “More and more of India’s hottest stars are choosing to keep meat off their plates, and when you look at Amitabh and Vidya, it’s easy to see why”, says PETA India Chief Executive Officer Poorva Joshipura. “All of PETA India’s nominees are great examples of how vegetarian meals help us stay in top physical shape.” Bachchan has been named PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity three times and even won the crown in PETA Asia’s equivalent contest last year. And Balan – who was PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian of 2010 – credits her sizzling physique to her choice to stick to meat-free meals, explaining, “I am a vegetarian … as a result, my metabolism has improved, and this is a huge contributor to weight loss”. In addition to causing animal suffering on a massive scale, eating meat and dairy products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer and obesity. And a United Nations report concluded that a global shift towards a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change.
