MUMBAI: After learning that Vivek Oberoi has gone vegetarian, members of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India have sent a gift basket to the actor thanking him for his kind choice.

According to the United Nations, the meat industry generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, SUVs and planes in the worldcombined. Animal agriculture is one of the world’s largest sources of carbon-dioxide emissions and is the single largest source of methane and nitrous-oxide emissions. It also produces many tonnes of manure and other waste products each year, polluting the air, water and soil.

When animals are raised in close confinement – as most animals used by the meat industry are – germs pass quickly from one animal to the next. Sick animals – even those near death – are slaughtered, and their flesh is processed and passed on to consumers, regardless of the animals’ condition.

"By going vegetarian, Vivek Oberoi has proved that he is a real hero for all animals", says PETA India’s Nikunj Sharma.