Thursday, July 3, 2025
ADVT 
India

Hindu Groups In UK Call For Withdrawing 'Non-Veg' 5-Pound Note

IANS, 03 Dec, 2016 02:39 PM
    Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), an umbrella group of Hindu organisations and temples in the UK, has called on the Bank of England to withdraw the new 5-pound note from circulation because it uses animal fat.
     
    HFB said it was convinced the move was not "malicious" but a result of "ignorance" and called for the notes to be made "Karma-free" at the earliest.
     
    "Saving and sharing wealth (the Goddess of fortune) in currency tainted by unnecessary harm to animals is somewhat of an oxymoron," said Shree Gauridas, spiritual commissioner of HFB and a director of the UK's ISKCON temple.
     
    The group has been encouraging people to sign a petition calling for the withdrawal of the notes as vegans and vegetarians continued to express outrage at the use of tallow, a substance derived from animal fat, which emerged in a Twitter response earlier this week.
     
    A petition titled "Remove tallow from bank notes" has gathered nearly 126,000 signatures. It will be delivered to the Bank of England when it hits 150,000.
     
    It reads, "The new 5 pound notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans and vegetarians in the UK. We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use."
     
    The new notes with an image of Britain's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill became legal tender in September this year.
     
    A vegetarian cafe in the university town of Cambridge is refusing to accept the new notes and Sharon Meijland, owner of Rainbow Cafe, has put up signs warning customers about the policy.
     
     
    "Tallow's an animal product isn't it? Our whole business is based around not having anything like that on the premises.
     
    Although the same person doesn't handle the money that handles the food, that's not really the point," she said.
     
    The Bank of England says it is now looking into ways of removing the substance from the supply chain.
     
    "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," a spokesperson said.
     
    Meanwhile, the Australian pioneer of the polymer bank note says it's "stupid" that vegetarian and vegans are protesting in the UK about the five pound polymer note containing animal fat.
     
    Professor David Solomon says the polymer notes contain trivial amounts of tallow, which is also used in candles and soap.
     
    "It's stupid. It's absolutely stupid. There's trivial amounts of it in there. It picks up less drugs than paper notes and you don't chop down trees. It's more hygienic than a paper note by a long way," he said.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Smriti Irani Gives Cobbler Rs. 100 For Fixing Slippers. Incident Goes Viral

      The Union Textile Minister's slipper strap had snapped as she got down from a flight to address a session at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, BJP sources said.

    Smriti Irani Gives Cobbler Rs. 100 For Fixing Slippers. Incident Goes Viral

    Parkash Singh Badal Dedicates 2nd Phase Of Virasat-E-Khalsa To Nation

    Parkash Singh Badal Dedicates 2nd Phase Of Virasat-E-Khalsa To Nation
    Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today dedicated the second phase of the prestigious Virasat-e-Khalsa to the nation.

    Parkash Singh Badal Dedicates 2nd Phase Of Virasat-E-Khalsa To Nation

    New Pakistan Army Chief: India Needs To Be Careful, Says Ex-army Chief Bikram Singh

    New Pakistan Army Chief: India Needs To Be Careful, Says Ex-army Chief Bikram Singh
    Gen (retd) Singh described Lt Gen Bajwa as a "thorough professional" who gave an "outstanding performance" under him in Congo but said things change once an officer goes back to his home country.

    New Pakistan Army Chief: India Needs To Be Careful, Says Ex-army Chief Bikram Singh

    Man Arrested For Allegedly Circulating Objectionable Picture Of PM Modi

    Man Arrested For Allegedly Circulating Objectionable Picture Of PM Modi
    A man was arrested in Banmore town in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly circulating an objectionable picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media, police said on Friday.

    Man Arrested For Allegedly Circulating Objectionable Picture Of PM Modi

    Japanese Woman Raped In Kerala, Accused Arrested

    Japanese Woman Raped In Kerala, Accused Arrested
    A 35-year-old Japanese woman was allegedly raped by a man from neighbouring Karnataka at nearby Kovalam, police said today.

    Japanese Woman Raped In Kerala, Accused Arrested

    Woman Allegedly Raped By Man Showing Her Room For Rent In Greater Noida

    Woman Allegedly Raped By Man Showing Her Room For Rent In Greater Noida
    A woman was allegedly raped by a man on the pretext of showing her a room for rent on Mangroli Marg in Jewar Kotwali area in Greater Noida, police said today.

    Woman Allegedly Raped By Man Showing Her Room For Rent In Greater Noida