The Bank of England have recently stated that the new £5 notes contain animal fat. This news has come as a shock to many vegans and vegetarians.

As a vegan, I try very hard to keep animal products out of my life, and to find out that I’ve been unknowingly carrying around a product containing animal fat in my wallet feels wrong.

According to the Bank of England, the notes contain a ‘trace of tallow’. Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet – and guess what. It doesn’t need be used in the notes at all. Using animals in this way is outdated and unnecessary, not to mention the fact that it is obviously cruel.

We’re aware that we can only do what we can – the definition of veganism states that it is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is practical and possible, the use of animals. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to be 100 per cent vegan in our non-vegan world.

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Animal products are impossible to get away from – they can be found everywhere, from car tyres to plastic bags to computers. While vegans aren’t able to completely avoid all use of items in their everyday lives, this doesn’t mean we should accept the outdated manner in which animal products are added into everyday items, when there are plenty of alternative options available.

Unfortunately, using cash isn’t something we can always opt out of, so vegans will be unable to stop using the new notes.

Vegans make up a significant portion of our society, with over 1 per cent of over-15s in Great Britain following a vegan diet. And this number is growing, with nearly half of vegetarians wanting to reduce their consumption of animal products. This growing portion of society deserves to have their beliefs listened to, and taken into consideration.

Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Show all 25 1 /25 Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ariana Grande, pop star "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding. But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-round happier person." Ariana Grande/Facebook Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Paul McCartney, musician "I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and over the years I've seen how the attitudes have changed around the world, so I'm not surprised when I see new research that shows more and more people are increasingly adopting 'meat free eating'." Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host "It doesn't make [Thanksgiving] harder at all. It makes it easier on the turkeys, too. They get to live." Reuters Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Morrissey, musician "I see no difference between eating animals and paedophilia." Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Bill Clinton, former president of the US Dr Dean Ornish, Clinton's doctor, said: "I asked him, 'Why do you want to live longer?' and he said, 'I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up.'" Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Peter Dinklage, actor Dinklage has been a vegetarian since childhood and featured in PETA's 'Face Your Food' film. WireImage Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Russell Brand, comedian "I'm now vegan, goodbye eggs, hello Ellen." PA Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellie Goulding, singer "I've got taxidermy, I've got animals.... deer and all sorts. But weirdly, I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat meat. I'm a walking contradiction." Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellen Page, actor Page was named as one of PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities' in 2014. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Al Gore, American politician "There are 10 vegan restaurants in Nashville now." Speaking about how he maintains his vegan diet in the city. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Tobey Maguire, actor Maguire said he was a vegan and "stopped consuming any mind-altering substances" when he was 19. Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Stella McCartney On her website, McCartney said that "the decision not to use leather or fur is not just because I don’t eat animals or that I think that millions of animals each year shouldn’t be killed for the sake of fashion. It’s because I also believe in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There’s a huge connection." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Natalie Portman, actor Portman converted from being a vegan to vegetarianism. Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Woody Harrelson, actor "I've always been relatively healthy except for my vices." HBO Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jared Leto, actor and musician "I'm pretty healthy... I've been that way for a long time - 20 solid years of eating vegetarian/vegan and taking care of myself. That probably helps the preservation process." WireImage Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jessica Chastain, actor It was reported that the vegan actor bought her mother a vegan food truck. AP Photo/Sony - Columbia Pictures, Jonathan Olley Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Joaquin Phoenix, actor Featuring a PETA advert to promote vegetarianism for Thanksgiving, he said: "Holidays can be murder on turkeys. Let's make this one for the birds." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians In March 2018, Beyoncé revealed she was following a plant-based diet when preparing for her headlining performances at Coachella music festival, while Jay-Z wrote about going vegan in a 2013 blog post, describing it as a “spiritual and physical cleanse". Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Kate Mara, actor Mara told E! Online that she stayed fit and healthy by being a vegan. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Alanis Morissette, musician "I'm predominantly vegan, which my friends hate because it's not monogamous; 80% is vegan; the other 20% is following what my body needs." Reuters Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Alicia Silverstone, actor Silverston has a blog called The Kind Life which discusses vegan and vegetarian food. Rex Features Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Kate Nash "I became a vegetarian last September - I used to suffer from OCD and it got stuck in my head that if I didn't eat meat then my bunny rabbit, Fluffy, would survive a dangerous operation she had to have." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jennifer Lopez, singer and actor Lopez said that she recommended a vegan diet "because you wake up and feel great". Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Mark Hoppus, member of Blink 182 Hoppus announced he was a vegan on Twitter. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Olivia Wilde, actor "[Being vegan] is not always easy and accessible. But it's a way of life and makes me as a person feel really good and physically look better." Getty Images

And it’s not just vegans who are affected by this decision. Many vegetarians are unhappy about the use of animal fat in the new notes, while people with certain religious beliefs are also forced to have their beliefs compromised.

There is a school of thought which states that that using animals is OK, as long as no part of the animal is wasted. Some people have commented that tallow is a ‘byproduct’ of slaughter, so why wouldn’t we use it? However, vegans object to slaughter and this extends to everything created as a result of it. It makes no sense to validate animal product industries by continuing to use the byproducts created as a result of them.