飲食行業屢起革命,連鎖快餐店忙不迭地加入戰團,標榜食材健康有機無添加。純素餐飲蔚為風潮,有見及此,英國快餐龍頭漢堡王(Burger King U.K.)推出全新純素雞肉至尊漢堡(chicken-free Vegan Royale burger),同時亦再次引入純素巨無霸(Plant-Based Whopper)。漢堡王強調純素產品絕不和肉類、乳製品、雞蛋等食材一同烹煮,製作過程堪稱滴水不漏,片肉不沾!

即使平日的你可能無肉不歡,但以下與素食有關的詞彙,你又可有聽過呢?Veganism、Raw Veganism、Fruitarianism、Ovo-vegetarianism、Lacto-vegetarianism、Ovo-lacto-vegetarianism / Vegetarianism、Pescetarianism、Flexitarianism。英語靈活多變,易於創造新字,帶領這股自然風潮。以下摘錄美饌權威《米芝蓮指南》網站記載有關上述新詞之介紹:

Veganism(純素主義):Adherents to the vegan diet do not consume animal meat or animal products such as eggs, dairy and honey.(崇尚純素主義的人不吃肉類或動物產品如蛋、奶類製品、蜜糖。)

Raw Veganism(生素食主義):Give your stove a break with this diet that excludes all food and products of animal origin, as well as food cooked at a temperature above 48°C.(姑且讓爐灶休息一下吧。生素食主義不包括任何動物產品,以及不包含以攝氏48度以上煮過的食物。)

Fruitarianism(果食主義):This very controversial diet is a subset of raw veganism and involves - as its name suggests - a diet consisting of about 75% raw fruit by weight, and 25% nuts and seeds.(果食主義備受爭議,是生素食主義的一種,顧名思義指超過75%進食的食物來自水果,25%源自堅果及種子。)

Ovo-vegetarianism(蛋素主義):"Ovo" is the Latin word for egg and this type of vegetarianism allows for the consumption of eggs but not dairy products.(「Ovo」在拉丁文解作「蛋」,蛋素主義者可以吃蛋,但是不吃奶製品。)

Lacto-vegetarianism(奶素主義):Lacto-vegetarians ("lacto" from the Latin root word for milk) do consume dairy products but cut out eggs from their diets.(「Lacto」的字根在拉丁文解作「奶」,奶素主義者可吃奶製品,但是不吃蛋。)

Ovo-lacto-vegetarianism/Vegetarianism(奶蛋素主義):General vegetarians do not consume meat of any kind, but eat both dairy and egg products.(一般吃素的人不進食任何肉類,但是可以吃蛋奶類食品。)

Pescetarianism(魚素主義):A pescetarian's diet includes fish and seafood in addition to vegetarian foods such as beans, vegetables, fruits, dairy and grains.(魚素者進食魚類海鮮,此外亦可以進食豆類、蔬果、奶類製品、穀物。)

Flexitarianism(彈性素食主義):This diet is more about adopting a healthier eating habit by including more vegetarian meals and seeing meat as more of an occasional accompaniment.(彈性素食主義提倡更加健康的飲食習慣,盡量多選擇素食,偶爾以肉類佐餐。)

以上的字眼可有讓你頭昏腦脹?只要好好掌握Prefix(字首)的意思(如「Ovo」、「Lacto」、「Flexi」),便可以輕易舉一反三,觸類旁通,時刻欣賞到英語變化多端之美。行文至此,終於解開Vegan和Vegetarian的謎團了──哪種與素食相關的主義最深得你心呢?Vegan Royale還是Plant-Based Whopper較為惹人垂涎?

●李樂軒博士 香港恒生大學英文系講師

隔星期五見報