Bad news vegan and vegetarians of the United Kingdom: the Bank of England has confirmed that the newly-released £5 notes contain animal fat.
Replying to a tweet from Twitter user @SteffiRox, the Bank of England’s official account confirmed that the there is a trace of tallow – a substance made from animal fat – used in the production of the new fiver.
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
Also used as the base for candles and soap, tallow traditionally comes from beef, mutton and sometimes pork.
Vegans and vegetarians have been disappointed by the revelation about the note and a petition has since been launched calling for its production to be halted. So far, it has gained almost 90,000 signatures.
‘The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow,’ the petition reads. ‘This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the U.K. We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use. ‘
As reported by the BBC, some British Hindu leaders are in discussions over a possible ban on the notes in temples following the news. Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism, with many Hindus avoiding clothing items such as bags and shoes that have been made from the skin of the animal.
