Dear Santa - wish list

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1996 by Andrea Mather

The editors of Vegetarian Times were very good this year. Well, some of us. For weeks, we've been working on our 1997 wish list and have whittled it down to this:

WE WISH FOR...

* Health-insurance discounts for vegetarians.

* Soymilk as an option for Starbuck lattes.

* Hemp paper.

* Scientific proof that reading burns more calories than aerobic dance.

* An office policy that lets me bring my dog to work every day.

* Every hot dog stand to start selling tofu dogs "with everything."

* Jimmy Carter's solar panel to be reinstalled on the White House.

* Mrs. Field's vegan cookies

* Three-day work weeks.

* Affordable, healthful food for everyone.

* Affordable healthcare including wellness and mental health services for everyone.

* Electric cars.

* Restaurants to quit thinking of veggies as a side dish and pile `em on.

* A brick of tofu in every pot.

* Telecommuting (in other words, doing the office thing in my pj's).

* Herbal remedies that taste like chocolate.

* A renewed commitment to volunteering in our communities.

* Designated "No Smoking" areas on streets.

* A loving home for every stray cat and dog.

* A dose of humility for the American Medical Association.

* An on-site office masseuse to work out the kinks in my neck and shoulders as I type.

* Vegetarian Times in every mailbox.

* "Real" nutritional education in public schools as well as medical schools.

* Clear factory output than input.

* A ban on BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone).

* Power naps.

* A "re-education center" for McDonald's executives.

* A law that allows herb manufacturers to label their products with what they actually do.

* Affordable organic cotton clothing.

* Delicious vegetarian lunch options in every public school.

* Vegetarian fast-food chain restaurants.

* Restaurants to learn to serve a real cup of tea (not in a yucky bag in a tiny saucer).

* Labels on produce identifying the date they were picked and their place of origin.

* A health care system that emphasizes wellness, not illness.

* Medals for everyone who's made dietary improvements.