There’s animal fat in our wallets
Kiwi vegans are facing an uncomfortable revelation, our banknotes are made with animal products.
Bank of England has confirmed a trace of tallow - derived from animal fat is found in the new polymer five pound note.
And New Zealand’s banknotes are the same.
Innovia Security, which supplies the polymer substrate for both New Zealand’s banknotes and the new five pound note, confirmed the presence of tallow in the product.
The manufacturer’s resin suppliers use a ‘‘trace amount of tallow’’ in the additive which makes up 1 per cent of the final polymer product.
Amanda Sorrenson of Vegan Society New Zealand said it was an unpleasant discovery.
‘‘What, are vegans going to use coins?,’’ she said.
Sorrenson said vegans ought to evaluate how they will respond.
‘‘You’ve got to put up a guard about achieving perfection …You can’t bend over backwards and become a very strange person in your endeavor.’’
SAFE spokesperson Stephen Manson said, ‘‘it would be good if [the Reserve Bank] looked at sourcing a product that didn’t involve the use of animal products’’.
A spokesperson for the Reserve Bank referred to a statement from Innovia, and declined to comment further.
The revelation initially came via the Bank of England’s Twitter account on Tuesday.
Since then, nearly 80,000 people have signed an online petition asking to eliminate tallow from the new five pound notes.
‘‘This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the U.K.,’’ the petition stated.