Traces of meat in the new £5 notes has faced with widespread outrage from British Hindus, Jains and Sikhs as well as vegans and vegetarians. Some of the prominent British Hindu leaders told Asian Voice that they want to ban the new £5 note from temples after it was revealed that they contain meat.
The plastic bank notes contain beef tallow – a form of animal fat that is used in the production of plastics.
Worshippers are generally not allowed to take leather into Hindu temples, and some avoid eating meat, fish and eggs for three days before entering. Many Hindus are vegetarian, but even those who are not, tend to avoid beef. Moreover cows are generally considered sacred by Hindus, and many followers also avoid wearing leather or using any other cow-derived products, as a lifestyle choice.
Temples, including Kingsbury and Neasden Swaminarayan, could also ban people from donating the notes following the relevation, it has emerged.
The Hindu Forum of Britain called the use of cow’s fat in the £5 notes ‘totally and utterly unacceptable’.
Trupti Patel, from the Hindu Forum of Britain said: “Using a non-vegetarian source is totally and utterly unacceptable.
“In this country we spend so much time and effort on interfaith matters, so much time and effort on being sensitive to each other’s needs and then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, without any consultation, these notes come out with traces of non-vegetarian material.
“Now you would think that’s okay, there are Hindus who are vegetarians and non-vegetarians, what is the difference? Well in this day and age, if we think about it, it is possible to create everything artificially, even diamonds are created artificially, so I can’t see any need for creating a £5 note with non-vegetarian material.”
There are vegetarian alternatives to tallow in the production of plastics – these include coconut oil and palm oil.
Shree Gauridas, Spiritual Commissioner of HFB and a director of ISKCON temple condemning the manufacture of currency notes using animal fat said “Saving and sharing wealth (the Goddess of fortune) in currency tainted by unnecessary harm to animals is somewhat of an oxymoron.”
Mr Tarang Shelat, President of Hindu Council of Birmingham said “It is important that we do make our views known in the strongest terms to the relevant authorities. Through ignorance they may not be aware of offence it is causing us as Hindus. It is also important to mention that in our place of worship, animal based products are strictly forbidden and this would have a drastic effect on our collection boxes as £5 will not be allowed as donation.”
Ms Varsha Mistry of Metropolitan Police Hindu Association stated very clearly that “The upset this has caused to diverse communities could easily have been avoided by prior consultation ahead of production of these notes by the mint and many will feel their own principles are compromised if they are having to handle the new £5 notes. The animal product content would also prevent use of this denomination for shagun purposes- Hindus tend to give odd denominations when gifting as part of offering blessings on auspicious occasions.”
Mr Kantibhai Mistry of Hindu Council of North UK and Mr Satya Minhas, co-chair of HCUK both expressed their concerns over the matter, and said “animal product in a £5 note would not be acceptable by temples on the grounds of non violence.”
Pt Satish Sharma, General Secretary of National Council of Hindu Temples stated very clearly: “From the Hindu and Dharmic perspective, producing currency and casually incorporating substances which are derived from acts of violence upon vulnerable non aggressive creatures is not the behaviour of civilised beings. It is not something easily countenanced by Hindus and we feel the pain of the creatures who were killed in this process. The £5 note ceases to be a simple medium of exchange but becomes a medium of communicating pain and suffering and we would not want to come into contact with it. Hindu temples are centres of positive holistic compassionate humanity and we can fully understand that Temples would consider that they wish to remain free of a symbol of the wholesale barbaric slaughter of tranquil vulnerable and fully sentient beings.”
Vibhooti Acharya, President of Belgrave's Shree Sanatan Mandir temple in Leicester, said the revelation was a "major concern" to many Hindus.
She said: "I have been following the news myself, but the issue has also been raised by worshipers and members of the public. Many are very angry. It's because one of the key virtues in the Hindu faith is Ahimsa. It is the practice of non-violence and applies to all living things. But it's also about looking after, and protecting animals, which symbolise many of our most important deities."
The petition to the Bank of England to remove tallow from the manufacturing process was on last Wednesday nearing 100,000 signatures. The petition on Change.org said: “The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK.
The Bank said the problem "had only just come to light" and it was treating the concerns with "utmost seriousness".
The tallow is used in an early stage of the production process and is "an extremely small amount", the Bank said.
"We are aware of some people's concerns about traces of tallow in our new £5 note. We respect those concerns and are treating them with the utmost seriousness," its statement said.
"This issue has only just come to light, and the Bank did not know about it when the contract was signed.
"[Supplier] Innovia is now working intensively with its supply chain and will keep the Bank informed on progress towards potential solutions," it added.
