Veggies Are a Hit With Anil Kumble
For Immediate Release:
1st August 2000
Contact:
Jason Baker 98201 22561, JasonB@peta-online.org
MUMBAI –– People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is launching its new ad featuring Anil Kumble in uniform and holding a bat that reads, "Go Vegetarian." PETA's ad campaign includes a chance to win Kumble's autographed cricket bat by logging onto www.PETAIndia.com.
"Vegetarianism saves animals' lives and can't be beat for maintaining a muscular body and building endurance", says Kumble. "Vegetarian food contains all the vitamins and protein you need to be at your best and is free of all the fat, cholesterol and toxins found in meat ".
Kumble, who was moved when he learned about the plight of animals raised for food in India and called PETA to find out how he could help, joins Sir Paul McCartney, Woody Harrelson, James Cromwell of Babe, and other vegetarians who have posed to promote a "cruelty-free" diet. Tennis great and vegetarian Martina Navratilova recently starred in PETA's "Be a Vegetarian Legend" ad along with a turkey named George. The ad debuted last month in Pune, the turkey-producing capital of India. The Kumble ad will be seen on billboards outside cricket stadiums later this year.
"As the cricket world is being shaken by match-fixing scandals, Anil Kumble is hoping to shake up people's diets", says PETA's Jason Baker. Concerns about animal cruelty coupled with the health benefits of a vegetarian diet is inspiring record numbers of people to give vegetarianism a chance. "There are more than 17 million vegetarians in the US and, according to the British Vegetarian Society, 2,000 people in England make the switch every week," says Baker.
Vegetarianism is the diet of many celebrities, including Kim Basinger, Amitabh Bachchan, Bryan Adams, Pamela Anderson, Mahima, Woody Harrelson, Alicia Silverstone, Juhi Chawla, Natalie Portman and John Abraham.
PETA, with its more than 700,000 members worldwide, opened its first-ever Indian campaign office in January, with the goal of combining traditional Indian ideals, like vegetarianism, with Western star power and a youth-oriented campaigning style.
