Anushka Sharma, Kartik Aaryan: PETA India's Hottest Vegetarians

The votes have been tallied, and this year's competition to be named PETA India's Hottest Vegetarian Celebrities has resulted in the first ever two-time female winner: Anushka Sharma, who previously won the title in 2015, winning top honours again alongside Kartik Aaryan.

Sharma, who was also named PETA India's Person of the Year in 2017, recently starred in an ad campaign for PETA India that proclaims that she is Anushka Sharma, and she is a Vegetarian. Her other efforts to help animals include announcing plans to open an animal shelter near Mumbai, launching the PAWsitive campaign to raise awareness that animals suffer when people set off loud firecrackers, and successfully helping to demand a ban on cruel horse-drawn carriage rides in Mumbai.

She said that going vegetarian was one of the best decisions she has ever made. She has more energy, she feels healthier, and she's so happy that no animals had to suffer for her meals.

Aaryan said that it only took one video of animals suffering and dying in the meat industry to convince me to go vegetarian. The kindest thing anybody can do for cows, pigs, chickens, and all animals is to stop eating them, he said.

Sachin Bangera, PETA's associate director of celebrity and public relations, said that Anushka Sharma and Kartik Aaryan are saving animals by keeping them off their plates, and by sharing their commitment to being meat-free with the world. Their compassion makes them as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside, and that makes them winners in PETA India's book, he said.

A part of the PETA India’s motto reads like this: ‘animals are not ours to eat’. Its video exposé- "Glass Walls”, reveals that chickens killed for food in India are consciously aware of what’s happening to them as their throats are slit. Cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they're dragged off to the slaughterhouse, and pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream. Similarly, on the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or they are cut open while they're still alive.

Over and above causing animal suffering on a massive scale, eating meat has been conclusively linked to an increased risk of suffering from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Besides, a recent United Nations report concluded that a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change.

It may be mentioned here that PETA India selected the winners based on several factors, including vote count.