Sunday Rest: pegan. Word Not To Use Today.

Yes, pegan is another of those words based on the word vegan which means vegan-except-for-eating-things-which-aren't-actually-vegan.

So: any idea what a pegan might eat?

No, no: peas are vegan to start with.

Yes, it is something beginning with p.

Partridge? Pies? Pommery Brut Royal?

Nope.

Actually, the p stands for something which isn't a food, so, as this makes the whole task impossible, I'll tell you.

It's paleo. Yes, paleo as in the Greek palaios, meaning old, and nowadays in English implying ancient or prehistoric.

No, no, it's all right, peganism* isn't quite as bonkers as that: you don't have to wait until your lentils are a decade old before you can eat them. As a matter of fact you can't eat lentils at all. A paleo diet is supposed to echo that of our prehistoric ancestors, and it therefore consists of grass-fed meat, fruit and veg, and nuts and seeds.

And what do pegans do? Well, they eat all the paleo stuff, including fish and eggs...and as far as I can see that's about it, except for going for small portions of the animal-based ingredients.

I suppose it's probably ideal if you aspire to the build and life-expectancy of a cave man, with some extra virtue-signalling built-in.


illustration by Margaret A McIntyre

Sunday Rest: pegan. Dr Mark Hyman made up this word in 2014.

* I may have made up this form of the word.