A debate reared up late last year after a petition went around the U.K. informing people that the new five-pound note introduced by the Bank of England contained tallow, aka animal fat.
More specifically, the tallow used in bank notes is cow fat, the hardened stuff found around their kidney’s stomach, liver and other organs. (Well, you asked…)
“This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK”, one such petition read, and it seemed fair enough, too.
The Bank of England have recently decided to keep the fat-friendly bank notes, sparking a fresh round of outrage.
Also revealed by Crikey was that the Reserve Bank of Australia also use tallow in the creation of our bank notes, which have been in circulation since being introduced in 1988. So chances are, if you are vegan… well, you aren’t. Sorry.
Of course, anyone acting with such fierce rigidity may have slightly missed the point, but to be a true vegan, you’ll have to stick to credit cards, bank cards, or shuttling to the bank and requesting pockets of $2 coins. Bartering may just make a comeback, too.
By the way, most sugar isn’t vegan either, just in case you wanna feel doubly-cheated today.
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