When John Hume said, “You can’t eat a flag”, what was he talking about?

That there are more important things than national identity. John Hume was a nationalist politician trying to solve the issues in Northern Ireland. People on either side were very strong in terms of their identity, so things like flags were important to them. There are more important things than that to get on in life. Eating a flag won't keep you alive.

A link in support of Flukey...

https://www.michaelnugent.com/2020/08/03/you-cant-eat-a-flag-john-hume/