Actor and film producer Anushka Sharma stars in a new campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India that proclaims, "I Am Anushka Sharma, and I Am a Vegetarian." The ad, available here, was shot by ace photographer Mazen Abusrour.
"Going vegetarian was one of the best decisions I ever made", says Sharma. "I have more energy, I feel healthier, and I'm so happy that no animals had to suffer for my meals."
As PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to eat" – reveals in its video exposé "Glass Walls", chickens killed for food are shackled upside-down and have their throats slit. Cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones break before they're dragged off to the slaughterhouse, and pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream. On the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while they're still alive.
Anushka has been a vegetarian for the last 3 and half years. She was named PETA India's Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2015 and Person of the Year in 2017. Among other efforts to help animals she has announced plans to open an animal shelter outside Mumbai; launched a campaign called PAWSITIVE to bring awareness to animals who suffer when people set off firecrackers during Diwali; and demanded a ban on cruel carriage rides in Mumbai.
She has joined Lara Dutta, Sonu Sood, Shahid Kapoor, Esha Gupta, Madhavan and many other celebrities who have teamed up with PETA India to promote healthy, humane meat-free meals.
