The Rainbow Vegetarian Café in Cambridge, England, has announced that it will not accept the new £5 polymer notes, introduced by the Bank of England in September. Last week the British vegan community discovered that the notes contain trace amounts of beef tallow, which is animal fat, and are therefore unacceptable by their cruelty-free standards. A heated online controversy has resulted, including a petition asking the Bank to remove tallow from the polymer.
The Rainbow Café's owner, Sharon Meijland, told The Telegraph that her stance was announced last Wednesday, at the end of a BBC radio interview on the unrelated topic of Christmas food.
"We sponsor the Vegan Fair and announced on Wednesday we would not be accepting the £5 notes because they are dubious ethically. We have been providing food for vegans for 30 years and have tried to be as ethical as we possibly can...This is not just a restaurant, it's a restaurant where tiny details like this are really important."
Is any of our money cruelty-free?
(Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Tuesday December 06 2016, @09:57PM
I'll have a little picnic outside their cafe, where I'll tuck into yummy yummy german speck and italian lardo.
The total of tallow used in all the 5 quid notes is *one freaking cow*. Get over it.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 07 2016, @05:11AM
Your response seems to be a common one in response to vegans doing their own thing.
I think it falls squarely within the group of behaviors commonly described as virtue signaling.
Basically you've let the world know your distaste for vegan beliefs or at least what you imagine them to be.
Would you do the same to hindus?
Would you go out of your way to eat pork or shellfish in front of a jewish deli?
What makes their beliefs regarding animal products unworthy of your public condemnation?