To the likes of “Horse Enthusiast” and “University of North Carolina” (wtf?), the Virginia DMV may someday add “Vegetarian” to the list of specialty license plates available to drivers registering vehicles in the Commonwealth. Several veggie-minded groups are pushing to make the plates available as soon as April 2011.

“It’s a way for us to make our statement that we’re proud to be vegetarians,” says Leslie Sanford, a coordinator for the Richmond Vegetarian Festival. Along with Vegan Action and the Richmond Vegetarian Society, her group is leading the charge. “We’ve got so many other special license plates and Virginia would be the first in the U.S. to have a vegetarian plate.”

To lead the nation thus, Sanford says 350 Virginians must demonstrate their interest by completing prepaid applications for veggie plates before the end of November. After that, Delegate Jennifer McClellan (D, 71st District) will introduce a bill in the General Assembly in January; if it passes, the governor must sign it before the DMV begins production. Sanford can’t say how many applications are already in, except that the number is “nowhere near what I need.”

The design the vegetarians have in mind, created by Noah Scalin, is good enough to eat with (what else?) fresh vegetables framing the plate number. Which brings us to our main point: What sort of vanity number might a person order stamped onto her Vegetarian tags?

At eight or more characters, unfortunately, “ANTIPORK,” “EATALEAF” and “CHIK-FIL-NAY” are all too long. Seven characters is the max. Therefore “CORNFED” is—so to speak—kosher. So are “BEEFSUX,” “MEATLSS” and “I8KALE.” The vegetarian who’s neglecting to consume sufficient almond butter might spring for “ND PRTN.” A bilingual herbivore might choose “YO SOY.”

We admit a certain fondness for keeping it simple. How about just “CARROTZ”?

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