Mumbai – Manushi Chhillar trades her Miss World crown for one made of broccoli, asparagus, and tomatoes for a new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India print campaign that encourages everyone to go vegetarian just in time for Earth Day (22 April). The beautiful Chhillar, who will make her Bollywood debut on Diwali in the highly anticipated Prithviraj opposite Akshay Kumar, is a lifelong vegetarian who won the title of PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity in 2019.
“For me, staying vegetarian was a personal choice that I made long back. I also wanted to concentrate on how that impacts my overall fitness. Food is a personal choice and we must eat what we feel is best for us, but my friends at PETA India and I encourage everyone to give being vegetarian a try for Earth Day and beyond if they so choose,” says Chhillar.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, animal agriculture – breeding, raising, and slaughtering animals for food – is responsible for about 14.5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, which, by some estimates, is greater than all the world’s transportation systems combined. What’s more, animal agriculture uses one-third of the world’s fresh water and one-third of global cropland for feed. Water scarcity already affects every continent – over two billion people live in countries experiencing high levels of water shortages, and more than 690 million people still go hungry.
As PETA India reveals in its video exposé about the Indian meat industry, “Glass Walls”, animals used for meat endure violence, severe confinement, painful mutilations, and cruel transport and are commonly slaughtered while they are still conscious and in full view of their companions.
Chhillar joins Kartik Aaryan, Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor, and many other celebrities who’ve teamed up with PETA India to promote healthy, humane meat-free meals.
The campaign was shot by photographer Errikos Andreou, represented by DEU: Creative Management, who was assisted by Ankit Sharma and Snehasish Roy. Chhillar was styled by Sheefa Gilani and wore an outfit by Péro and a headpiece from Valliyan by Nitya Arora. Her hair and make-up were done by Mehak Oberoi.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
