News New £5 notes contains animal fat

[Second Summer]

Meanwhile, in Australia:

When Hack asked Australian animal rights groups if they supported any protest, most said this was a fringe issue, and they wanted to focus more on simply not killing animals.

Vegans Australia and Vegan Society NSW both said it was better to work towards a world where animals were not exploited, rather than worry about every animal byproduct.

More: Aussie vegans say UK fatty banknote protest off the mark (27. Feb. 2017)

 

[Pirate]

Bank of England considers palm oil for the new £20 note - BBC News erm

 

[Second Summer]

Bank of England considers palm oil for the new £20 note - BBC News erm

I saw that. They'd said before that half a cow was enough for all the £5 notes, I think, so I guess they should be able to afford the equivalent amount of palm oil from a reputable, organically certified supplier that doesn't burn down forests? Though, I would have hoped there was another alternative than palm oil ...

 

[Second Summer]

The public consultation has now been launched. To submit a response, see:
Polymer Additives Consultation | Bank of England

From their consultation paper:

Alternative sources
A range of plant-based oils can be alternative sources to animal-derived additives, however they are not all
suitable for the production of notes. In addition to the technical requirements, a viable alternative additive needs
to have a reliable supply chain; to be available at reasonable cost; and, for certain sources with wider
environmental considerations, the product may need to be obtainable under a well-developed sustainability
certification framework (see Section 6).

The advice from De La Rue and Innovia Security is that an additive derived from palm oil would appear to be the
only alternative that could potentially meet these requirements. This is consistent with advice received from
Efeca. Palm oil is a good source of fatty acids. Whilst there are concerns about certain environmental and social
impacts of palm oil, growing awareness of these has led to the development of a range of sustainability assurance
systems, such as certification schemes, which could be adopted to mitigate potential impacts (see Section 6).

The Bank asked its suppliers to consider coconut oil. However, they judged that it would not meet the criteria at
this time since supply chains are insufficiently mature and there is no generally-accepted sustainability
certification framework in place. Products derived from coconut oil are not, therefore, being trialled.
Other potential plant sources are lower yielding, making them inefficient, or require chemical transformation
(“hydrogenation”) to be usable and have been ruled out. In particular, soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil
are too low in their content of saturated fat — and therefore fatty acids — to make them viable commercial
sources.

Polymer notes are the product of multiple, interdependent materials. Because of the complexity of the note
production process and the key role that the polymer substrate performs as the platform for all of the additional
components and security features, the Bank and its suppliers must be very confident that the substrate can be
provided consistently to the technical specification required without affecting the production process or
functionality of the note. Given this, extensive testing and trials of polymer chemical additives derived from palm
oil must be undertaken. These tests are underway and are expected to complete in Summer 2017. De La Rue and
Innovia Security have a high degree of confidence that a substrate manufactured from polymer that utilises such
an additive can meet the Bank’s technical and operational requirement

More: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Documents/polymerconsultation2017.pdf

 

[Andy_T]

Have we had this yet?

A Very Precise Calculation of Exactly How Many Cows Are Being Murdered to Make the New Fivers

I must admit that I can not ascertain the veracity of the calculation, but it does seem to make sense to me.

It would also suggest that there might be more worthy targets to pursue than boycotting the new 5 pound note - especially if tallow is also used for manufacturing the plastic bag you receive at your grocer, the candle that is lit on the table of your favourite Italian restaurant when you sit down to enjoy your spaghetti pomodoro or the soap that you use to wash your hands after using their toilet.

 

[Second Summer]

It would also suggest that there might be more worthy targets to pursue than boycotting the new 5 pound note - especially if tallow is also used for manufacturing the plastic bag you receive at your grocer, the candle that is lit on the table of your favourite Italian restaurant when you sit down to enjoy your spaghetti pomodoro or the soap that you use to wash your hands after using their toilet.

Yes, a good an valid point, however, we shouldn't underestimate the symbolic power of bank notes. If we allow yet another everyday item to become "made from animals", then it adds to the sense of inevitability that animals somehow has to suffer and die for our society to function, and makes it impossible to live your life without contributing to this madness in some way.

Also, it's obviously possible to support more than one cause, especially if all you have to do is sign an e-petition. It takes very little effort.

 

[shyvas]

Yes, a good an valid point, however, we shouldn't underestimate the symbolic power of bank notes. If we allow yet another everyday item to become "made from animals", then it adds to the sense of inevitability that animals somehow has suffer and die for our society to function, and makes it impossible to live your life without contributing to this madness in some way.

Also, it's obviously possible to support more than one cause, especially if all you have to do is sign an e-petition. It takes very little effort.

It is strange that the manufacturer used animal fat, as you can get synthetic fat these days.

 

[Andy_T]

It is strange that the manufacturer used animal fat, as you can get synthetic fat these days.

As always, if those synthetic alternatives are more expensive, the "normal" reaction of "normal" people would be to go for the cheapest alternative.

 

[Second Summer]

As always, if those synthetic alternatives are more expensive, the "normal" reaction of "normal" people would be to go for the cheapest alternative.

But you need so little, only the equivalent of 0.5 cows. It really shouldn't be that much of a cost compared to the grand total of producing these notes ...?

 

[Andy_T]

But you need so little, only the equivalent of 0.5 cows. It really shouldn't be that much of a cost compared to the grand total of producing these notes ...?

I have heard that in many industrial processes, e.g. aluminum extruding, changing the lubricant from animal-based to syntethic might require a change of the manufacturing process which in itself can be quite expensive.

 

[Second Summer]

They've decided to continue killing cows:

The Bank is today, Thursday 10 August, announcing that after careful and serious consideration and extensive public consultation there will be no change to the composition of polymer used for future banknotes. The new polymer £20 note and future print runs of £5 and £10 notes will continue to be made from polymer manufactured using trace amounts of chemicals, typically less than 0.05%, ultimately derived from animal products.

Bank of England decision on the future composition of polymer banknotes | Bank of England (10. August 2017)