Britain's Hindus, Sikhs, vegetarians and others who objected against the use of tallow, a substance derived from animal fat in Britain's new £5 polymer note have been left feeling 'betrayed' after the Bank of England said on Wednesday that the note would not be withdrawn. The diaspora has been protesting against the use of 'animal fat' in £5 notes for over months, with a petition that gained more than 130,000 signatures. It is believed the new polymer £10 banknote may also have animal fat traces, when launched.
Among Hindu and Sikh organisations, the note evoked memories of the 1857 uprising in India. The National Council of Hindu Temples (UK) recalled the use of tallow in cartridges that sparked the revolt, and after the note was introduced, many temples across Britain refused to accept it as an offering. They explained the animal fat in the £5 note also bans it from temple premises, affecting the temple economy.
The organisation told Asian Voice, “On Wednesday 8th February 2017, the Hindu Council UK representatives – Chairman: Umesh C Sharma JP, Director of Interfaith Relations: Anil Bhanot OBE and Director of Hindu Temple Engagement: Arun Thakur were personally invited to a meeting with The Chief Cashier of the Bank of England-Victoria Cleland at its headquarters in Threadneedle Street, Central London, to discuss the issue of the new £5 note, which contains small traces of animal derived products (tallow). The Bank of England wished to understand the concerns of the community in more detail and to hear Hindu Council UK's thoughts, on this issue directly. Whilst the Bank of England was not, at that stage in a position to provide any specific update on whether there were potential alternatives to the use of small traces of animal-derived products in the new £5, (and the impending launch of the new £10 and £20 polymer banknote), they hoped that through the meeting, they could explain some of the issues that they were tackling.”
But on 15 February, the bank in a statement said, “The Bank recognises the concerns raised about the discovery of traces of tallow used in the production of its £5 polymer notes. Following detailed analysis and further work we are now able to provide an update to the public.
“As stated on 30 November 2016, the Bank was not aware of the presence of animal-derived products when it signed the contract with its supplier for the £5 and £10 banknote polymer. When the Bank discovered the presence of these products, its first step was to alert the public and subsequently has been treating the concerns raised by members of the public with the utmost seriousness. It has spoken to a number of groups to understand their concerns more fully.
“An extremely small amount of tallow is used in an early stage of the production process of polymer pellets, which are then used to create the base substrate for the £5 note. The Bank is continuing to work closely with banknote polymer suppliers to determine what alternatives might be available.
“Weighing the considerations below, the Bank has now concluded that it would be appropriate to keep the £5 polymer note in circulation and to issue the £10 polymer note as planned, in September. In reaching its decision, the Bank has given careful consideration to the possible alternative options for the current £5 note and the Jane Austen £10 polymer note. In doing so, the Bank has considered: its responsibility to issue and maintain the supply of high quality and secure banknotes, its obligations under the Equality Act 2010, the concerns raised about the use of animal-derived products, the impact of any changes on firms that process and handle cash, the potential impact on our suppliers, and value for money for the taxpayer.”
Gauri das, Managing Director, on behalf of Bhaktivedanta Manor (UK) said, “We are both shocked and saddened to receive news that the Bank of England have already printed ten pound notes containing tallow. As a temple community our ethos is nonviolence. As such we stopped accepting the new five pound notes which in turn impacted the donations we depend on. Now with news of the ten pound note we will have to review our stance on banning tallow notes.
“We now find ourselves having to choose between compromising our core religious principles and spiritual values or suffering significant financial losses. We fail to see how in this day and age a public service provider could allow this to not only continue but to become significantly more harmful.
“We do welcome the Bank's planned consultation and understand that the costs of correcting the oversight are deemed unacceptable. Currency must be acceptable to all, therefore there is no question, it must be free from animal products.”
