Young People Flock by the Thousands to petaDishoom.com to Choose Celebrities Who Exude Both Passion and Compassion

The votes have been tallied and the results are in. Film stars Kareena Kapoor and R. Madhavan have been crowned winners in the first-ever "Cutest Vegetarian" online poll conducted by petaDishoom – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) India's youth division.

It was a close race with stiff challenges mounted by a bevy of hottie runners-up, including Mallika Sherawat, Mahima Chaudhary, Shahid Kapur and Rajneesh Duggal.

One look into Bollywood beauty Kareena Kapoor's radiant hazel eyes and there's no doubt that cute and vegetarian are one and the same. The youth icon and reigning screen queen also has the talent to match her captivating looks: Kareena recently won the Best Actress Star Screen Award for her performance in Omkara.

In the male category, it's no surprise that heartthrob Madhavan has triumphed. A veteran of Hindi TV serials before going on to star in dozens of films – including the much acclaimed Alaipayuthey and Guru- Madhavan has always encouraged young people to go vegetarian for their health, the animals and the environment.

He has also helped his friends at PETA help animals every chance he gets. He shot an ad in which he crammed himself into a cage to show how chickens suffer, made a pro-vegetarian public service announcement, did an introduction in Tamil for PETA 's "Compassionate Citizen" education program and launched petaDishoom.com's popular pro-vegetarian online e-card.

Explains Madhavan, "Chickens may not be cute and cuddly like some animals, but they still feel pain just like you and me. It's simple – I love animals, so I don't eat them".

Why are so many celebrities shunning meat faster than you can say "veggie burger"? Celebrities cite many reasons for forgoing flesh, from avoiding the cruelty inherent in all meat production to improving their health and energy levels and helping the environment by not contributing to factory-farm pollution.