As Digital Journal reported earlier this year the U.K. has launched a new £5 bank note (equivalent to around $7.) The new polymer banknotes were introduced because they are more durable (almost three times stronger) and they help in the battle against fraud. The polymer used is intended to be safe for the environment and it can be recycled.
Not all interest groups are happy with the new notes. This is because they contain animal products. This follows the Bank of England (who issue currency in England and Wales) confirming that the note contains traces of tallow, a substance made from animal fat.
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. The substance is used in fuels and as the basis of different materials. Sometimes it is also used in the production of candles. In some countries it is also used, as beef derivative, in the cooking process for McDonald’s French fries and hash browns.
The information from the Bank of England about the notes was revealed after Steffi Rox, 33, a vegan businesswoman tweeted the bank, which promptly tweeted back confirming the fact that the notes contain an animal product.
@SteffiRox there is a trace of tallow in the polymer pellets used in the base substrate of the polymer £5 notes
— Bank of England (@bankofengland) November 28, 2016
Interviewed by The Evening Standard, Ms Rox said: “It seems that Vegans were just not considered which is pretty offensive considering it’s a huge growing community.”
New £5 note isn’t vegan. Was everyone’s 2016 New Year’s resolution to do ridiculously insane stuff like adding meat to money? https://t.co/yuEGPEitXl
— Dan Hanks (@dan_hanks) November 28, 2016
Following the news, a petition has been launched calling for the use of tallow in the banknotes to be stopped. The petition has attracted more than 70,000 supporters so far and will be delivered to the Bank of England.
Annie Walker(@Thunderoad75)
Confirmed by @bankofengland . So many implications, not just for vegans, but presumably some religious groups too.https://t.co/RXLQSkQUK0
The Bank of England plans to convert the £10 and £20 bank notes from paper to plastic during the course of 2017. As things stand, these notes will also contain animal derived ingredients. The novelist Jane Austen will be the face of the new £10 note, which will be available from summer 2017.
