Vegetarians, Vegans launch petition to demand fat-free five-pound banknotes

Britain's Bank of England faced calls Tuesday to change the make-up of the country's new polymer five-pound bank note after protests from non-meat eaters because it contains animal fat.

Thousands of vegetarians have signed a petition after discovering that the newly introduced five-pound notes contain tallow, derived from animal fats such as cow, sheep or pigs.

A Bank of England spokeswoman told Xinhua: "We can confirm that the polymer pellet from which the base substrate is made contains a trace of a substance known as tallow. Tallow is derived from animal fats (suet) and is a substance that is also widely used in the manufacture of candles and soap."

The petition, signed mainly by non-meat eating vegans and vegetarians, calls for a change in the way the notes are made to avoid using tallow.

London businesswoman Steffi Rox told the Evening Standard: "It seems that Vegans were just not considered, which is pretty offensive considering it's a huge growing community."

Rox told the newspaper that from now on she would boycott the five-pound note, saying she refused to accept that having animal fat in money was okay.

The 33-year-old vegan has told her customers on social media she will no longer accept the new five- pound plastic notes as payment.

The Bank of England issued its new five-pound note on Sept. 13, the first tamper-proof banknote of its kind produced by the bank. It will replace paper notes which will cease to be legal tender after May 5, 2017.

The bank has already announced it will introduce polymer 10-pound and 20-pound notes at a future date. Endit