Hema Malini campaigns for being vegetarian

Politician and long-time animal defender Hema Malini stars in a brand-new ad for her friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

Kolkata: Politician and long-time animal defender Hema Malini, who has campaigned for a ban on horse carriages from the streets of Mumbai, stars in a brand-new ad for her friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

Smiling beautifully into the camera next to the words "I Am Hema Malini, and I Am Vegetarian", she says, "Being vegetarian is the best road to good health." Malini, who has appeared in more than 150 films in a stellar career spanning four decades, says "Knowing that my food choices are helping the planet and animals, too, makes me happy," according to a PETA release here today. In 2009, she had written on PETA`s behalf to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner urging him to ban cruel and dangerous horse carriages from the city`s busy streets. Also, following Malini`s plea to the government to end the cruel sport of `jallikattu`, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a notification that bulls can no longer be used as "performing animals". Malini was named PETA`s Person of the Year in 2011 for her animal-protection work. PTI