New Delhi, Jul 24 (IANS): TV actor Ravi Bhatia has turned vegetarian for a lifetime. The actor has urged people to start respecting and loving animals' life.

"I decided to quit consuming non-vegetarian food be it farm animals, companion animals, marine or wildlife animals, and choose to eat a vegan diet now on," Ravi told IANS.

The actor who is known for serials like "Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se" and "Ishq Subhan Allah" has opted for a plant-based diet.

He said: "Adopting a plant-based diet is one of the most important and effective acts anyone can take to make this world a better place. I understood the fact to care about the animals of the earth."

He added: "Animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason. By switching to a plant-based diet, human societies will be able to alleviate the needless suffering and deaths of countless animals. There is irreparable damage done on the earth like air and water pollution, the erosion of lands, waste of precious energy, and deforestation. Raising and eating meat leaves behind an environmental toll that generations to come will be forced to pay."

Sharing his experience of turning into a vegetarian, he said: "If you just want to become vegetarian for kicks, you probably won't stick with it for long. Not because it's hard, but because any lifestyle change or habit change requires a little bit of motivation. You need to first think about why you want to become vegetarian, and really believe in it. The rest is easy."

Ravi currently features in the web series "Shukla: The Tiger". The actor is looking forward to the release of his next web series "Margaon: The Closed File", also featuring veteran actor Zeenat Aman.

He will also be seen in a lead role in the upcoming Bollywood film "The Conversation" and a couple of web series - "Halala", "Char ka Punchnama" and "Hastinapur".