Vegans and vegetarians are calling on the Bank of England to scrap the new \u00a35 note after it was revealed to contain traces of animal fat.<\/p>\n
Responding to a question on Twitter, the UK’s central bank confirmed that the notes contain tallow, a substance made from animal fat often used in soap and candles.<\/p>\n
The news sparked outrage among vegans and vegetarians, leading to the creation of a petition calling on the Bank of England to remove tallow from the new polymer notes, released in September.<\/p>\n
Reply: Responding to a question on Twitter, the Bank of England confirmed the new \u00a35 notes (pictured) contain tallow, a substance made from animal fat often used in soap and candles<\/p>\n
Anger: The controversy erupted after a member of the public, Steffi Rox, tweeted the Bank of England’s official Twitter account, asking: ‘Is it true the new \u00a35 notes contain tallow?’
\nDoug Maw, of Keswick in Cumbria, started the petition, which has garnered more than 13,500 signatures, and said he has been left ‘disgusted’.<\/p>\n
‘I understand old notes contain stuff as well – we can’t do anything about what is in circulation – but the fact they are producing new ones is what really riles me,’ he said.<\/p>\n
‘There is no excuse for it. There has got to be other ways of making money without using animal products.’<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old hotel worker, who has been a vegan for 20 years, said he will ‘absolutely’ be boycotting and ‘refusing’ the new notes.<\/p>\n
Thousands have signed the petition since its creation on Monday. Mr Maw said he was ‘surprised’ by how many people have committed their name to it.<\/p>\n
‘I don’t think anything will happen about what has already been made, but I just hope they produce new ones without using animal fats,’ he said.<\/p>\n
‘It is the Bank of England – can’t they come up with something a little bit more modern? Now there’s a huge amount of people that eat a plant-based diet or are vegan. They are not just disrespecting a tiny minority.’<\/p>\n
Disbelief: The revelation about the new \u00a35 note sparked outrage among vegans on Twitter
\nOn the use of tallow, he said: ‘It is incredibly disrespectful – we have no choice with money. We have to use it. They issue it through ATMs and hand them to us in shops.<\/p>\n
‘If we refuse them and they haven’t got anything else, what are we going to do? Basically, we are being forced to have animal products on us.’<\/p>\n
He said he has started a second petition on the UK Government petition site, which is awaiting authorisation, in a bid to get the issue debated and addressed.<\/p>\n
WHAT IS TALLOW AND WHY IS IT IN POLYMER \u00a35 NOTES?
\nTallow is a substance that comes from animal fat and also referred to as suet.<\/p>\n
The most common tallow comes from beef but fat can be rendered from deer, sheep, bear and other animals.<\/p>\n
It is commonly used in cooking (frying and baking), as a lubricant, as a biofuel, for candle making and also skin care.<\/p>\n
However, there are also traces of it in the polymer the Bank of England has used to make the new \u00a35 banknotes.<\/p>\n
The polymer has been supplied by Innovia Security – one of two companies worldwide who produce it for bank notes.<\/p>\n
Innovia’s Guardian substrate accounts for more than 99 per cent of polymer banknotes found in the market today across 24 countries.<\/p>\n
Tallow is believed to be used as a source of stearic acid, which acts as a lubricant and neutralises trace additives in the notes. There are vegetarian alternatives, although these are likely to be more expensive.<\/p>\n
The controversy erupted after a member of the public, Steffi Rox, tweeted the Bank of England’s official Twitter account, asking: ‘Is it true the new \u00a35 notes contain tallow?’<\/p>\n
The bank responded, posting: ‘@SteffiRox there is a trace of tallow in the polymer pellets used in the base substrate of the polymer \u00a35 notes’<\/p>\n
It led to an angry backlash online, with Ms Rox first tweeting back: ‘What consideration was given to #vegans\u00a0& their human rights in the making of these?’<\/p>\n
Another user wrote: ‘I can’t believe the \u00a35\u00a0notes have beef tallow\u00a0in them. Something like 8% of the population are vegetarian. How did this happen?’<\/p>\n
Amanda Tuchscherer added: ‘I think it’s ok for people to be upset about the new \u00a35\u00a0containing tallow. Surely in 2016 an animal-free alternative exists?’<\/p>\n
Another user wrote: ‘How many new \u00a35\u00a0notes are produced every day ? Month ? Year ? That’s a lot of #tallow\u00a0speechless #govegan.’<\/p>\n
Jon Cole-Dalton tweeted: ‘Petition to remove tallow\u00a0from the new polymer \u00a35\u00a0banknotes. Baffling that this needs to be a thing. Go and sign.’<\/p>\n
And Fi Brown added: ‘So it seems the new \u00a35\u00a0contains tallow, ergo is an issue for vegans & vegetarians. Why could an animal friendly solution not have been found.’<\/p>\n
Not everyone was as critical, however, with one user tweeting: ‘Are people really refusing to use\/accept the new \u00a35\u00a0notes b\/c of the TRACE amount of tallow\u00a0found in them? Talk about picking your battles.’<\/p>\n
A spokesman from the Bank of England said: ‘We can confirm that the polymer pellet from which the base substrate is made contains a trace of a substance known as tallo<\/p>\n