[tarquin]

Some of you may remember learning about the British East India Company using beef and pig fat to seal cartridges and lube the musket balls. Of course, this caused problems with both Hindu and Muslim soldiers. Read more about that, here: http://www.guns.com/2013/01/19/how-gun-l...sh-empire/

A similar situation is happening again, but this time with the new Five Pound Note. Apparently tallow is used in making the plastic notes from the very beginning. The plastic polymer pellets are coated, apparently in small amounts, with animal fats. The new notes may contain trace amounts of the fat, angering different religious groups as well as vegans and vegetarians.

Quote:

[I]t has so horrified vegans, veget­arians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Orthodox Jews, among others, that 130,000 peo­ple have signed a petition demanding the Bank of England do something about it.

Quote:

The Bank of England’s statement said: “We are aware of some people’s con­cerns about traces of tallow in our new five pound note. We respect those concerns and are treating them with the utmost seriousness. This issue has only just come to light, and the Bank did not know about it when the contract was signed.

They are, of course, looking to use vegetable based oils now and there is no estimate how much the change will cost. It's quite an interesting topic. I wonder if other plastic notes also have traces of animal fat. It also brings up some arguments about how far a society is willing to accommodate certain groups. I don't know if I'd classify the religious objections as from "special interest groups," but to what extent should minority beliefs dictate national policies of accommodation? I'm not sure that I would support an increased cost for the production of currency if only trace amounts are used and the religious have the option of using other forms of payment. I would also venture that tallow is used for many other plastic goods such that these groups are already in contact with various animal fats.


https://www.coinworld.com/news/paper-mon...proar.html

While we are discussing the new note, you might be interested to know that it can be erased with a pencil eraser.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2067478/vi...ubbed-out/

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

If you use the Five Pound note to place an order for a bucket of tallow, does the universe enter an infinite loop and explode?

[Once Was Not]

I feel like if you're going to lose your shit over a tiny trace amount of animal fat then they should just leave the western civilization altogether and live a nomadic lifestyle. If you're going to be that anal about such trivialities then one should acknowledge that simply by existing in a first world country you are propping up these firms and practices doing the things you dislike because you drive them no matter what you do. Every basic consumption and demand you create drives these processes regardless of how vegan you eat and buy and how much you protest, you are aiding the process. The electricity you consume, the cloth you wear, the plastics you buy for daily necessities like your keyboard and pens, etc.

[Paracelsus]

(12-18-2016 02:20 PM)Handsome Creepy Eel Wrote:  

If you use the Five Pound note to place an order for a bucket of tallow, does the universe enter an infinite loop and explode?

No, you are merely enlightened.

[roberto]

To be fair the only people who have been vocal here about the new note are the liberal press and vegetarians. The usual 'sign this petition, OMG' but not much more.

Tallow is used in so many things, but as it's money 'they can't avoid it'. More like it's easy to make a fuss over, and 'not being able to avoid it' gives them a convenient excuse.