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| How difficult is it to avoid animal products in everyday life? | How difficult is it to avoid animal products in everyday life? |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| A vegetarian cafe's decision to refuse the new £5 note sparked a vigorous and sometimes heated debate - and underlined how difficult it is to be a committed vegan in a world awash with animal products. | A vegetarian cafe's decision to refuse the new £5 note sparked a vigorous and sometimes heated debate - and underlined how difficult it is to be a committed vegan in a world awash with animal products. |
| From going out for a beer to washing your hair or choosing a new car, countless aspects of vegan life involve making a choice about how far principles should trump practicality. | From going out for a beer to washing your hair or choosing a new car, countless aspects of vegan life involve making a choice about how far principles should trump practicality. |
| As the row over the new fiver demonstrates - the banknotes had already been in circulation for weeks before it emerged they contained traces of animal fat - living a life entirely free of even the merest animal traces is far from straightforward. | As the row over the new fiver demonstrates - the banknotes had already been in circulation for weeks before it emerged they contained traces of animal fat - living a life entirely free of even the merest animal traces is far from straightforward. |
| As the Vegan Society states: "To live as a vegan in a non-vegan world takes both courage and curiosity." So just how difficult is it? | As the Vegan Society states: "To live as a vegan in a non-vegan world takes both courage and curiosity." So just how difficult is it? |
| Sam East, 44, has been a vegan for 25 years. | Sam East, 44, has been a vegan for 25 years. |
| She believes people can "only do the best they can" when it comes to avoiding traces of animals in what they eat, or what they use - and she says she will be using the new £5 notes. | She believes people can "only do the best they can" when it comes to avoiding traces of animals in what they eat, or what they use - and she says she will be using the new £5 notes. |
| "I am not happy about the money but we are foolish as vegans to think this is the only thing that has got past us," she said. | "I am not happy about the money but we are foolish as vegans to think this is the only thing that has got past us," she said. |
| "It's about choice and control - what can I do if it's out of my control? | "It's about choice and control - what can I do if it's out of my control? |
| "Processing film used to use gelatine, so vegans would have unknowingly been doing that for years when they got their photos printed. | "Processing film used to use gelatine, so vegans would have unknowingly been doing that for years when they got their photos printed. |
| "Because we didn't know that, does it make us any less vegan?" | "Because we didn't know that, does it make us any less vegan?" |
| Cambridge cafe controversy | Cambridge cafe controversy |
| Nestled in an alleyway directly opposite King's College Cambridge, the Rainbow Cafe has long been known as one of the city's veggie and vegan hotspots. | Nestled in an alleyway directly opposite King's College Cambridge, the Rainbow Cafe has long been known as one of the city's veggie and vegan hotspots. |
| Its owner's choice to stop accepting new £5 note, because the polymer contains a type of animal fat, has catapulted the cafe into the centre of a public debate. | Its owner's choice to stop accepting new £5 note, because the polymer contains a type of animal fat, has catapulted the cafe into the centre of a public debate. |
| Comments flew back and forth on social media, with one Facebook user posting: "So reject all customers wearing leather shoes, jackets, woolly jumpers & hats etc & go bankrupt! | Comments flew back and forth on social media, with one Facebook user posting: "So reject all customers wearing leather shoes, jackets, woolly jumpers & hats etc & go bankrupt! |
| "Unbelievable that yet again an insane minority is dictating to a sane majority!" | "Unbelievable that yet again an insane minority is dictating to a sane majority!" |
| The cafe's owner, Sharon Meijland, said she had simply been making a stand, and had been left "shocked and frightened" at some of the "hatred" she had received online. | The cafe's owner, Sharon Meijland, said she had simply been making a stand, and had been left "shocked and frightened" at some of the "hatred" she had received online. |
| Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of people read a BBC News story about fish swim bladders. | Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of people read a BBC News story about fish swim bladders. |
| Not a topic regularly on the news agenda, granted - but the story was also about beer, and the gelatine made from fish swim bladders that is widely used to make the drink clear, bright and more attractive. | Not a topic regularly on the news agenda, granted - but the story was also about beer, and the gelatine made from fish swim bladders that is widely used to make the drink clear, bright and more attractive. |
| Certain beers are already approved by the Vegetarian Society, and the Campaign for Real Ale called on other brewers to look for vegetarian and vegan-friendly alternatives. | Certain beers are already approved by the Vegetarian Society, and the Campaign for Real Ale called on other brewers to look for vegetarian and vegan-friendly alternatives. |
| But brewers are far from the only producers to use animals as part of the manufacturing process. | But brewers are far from the only producers to use animals as part of the manufacturing process. |
| Winemakers also often use animal products, including gelatine or milk protein, to remove impurities. | Winemakers also often use animal products, including gelatine or milk protein, to remove impurities. |
| Like the new £5 notes, soap, candles, lipstick, crayons and plastic bags can all contain tallow. | Like the new £5 notes, soap, candles, lipstick, crayons and plastic bags can all contain tallow. |
| Avoiding animal products becomes particularly difficult if you want to buy a car, where they are widely used in all manner of components. | Avoiding animal products becomes particularly difficult if you want to buy a car, where they are widely used in all manner of components. |
| "There's a kind of Bentley that uses 14 individual cow hides," said motoring journalist Ryan McElroy from Car Keys.com. | "There's a kind of Bentley that uses 14 individual cow hides," said motoring journalist Ryan McElroy from Car Keys.com. |
| He wrote an article on which car to buy if you are a vegan after realising there was very little information available. | He wrote an article on which car to buy if you are a vegan after realising there was very little information available. |
| "Every single vehicle on the road has animal products in - you can't avoid it," he told the BBC. | "Every single vehicle on the road has animal products in - you can't avoid it," he told the BBC. |
| "Tallow is used to toughen tyres and tubing, steel is coated with lubricants made from animal products, and leather often features heavily in interiors. | "Tallow is used to toughen tyres and tubing, steel is coated with lubricants made from animal products, and leather often features heavily in interiors. |
| "It definitely surprised me, the extent to which things aren't vegan-friendly." | "It definitely surprised me, the extent to which things aren't vegan-friendly." |
| Mr McElroy said Tesla was one company offering an alternative, as it had started manufacturing vegan-friendly models, and an imitation suede product had increased in popularity. | Mr McElroy said Tesla was one company offering an alternative, as it had started manufacturing vegan-friendly models, and an imitation suede product had increased in popularity. |
| "Paul McCartney got a Lexus kitted out with Alcantara, the faux suede, which is approved by Peta," he said. | "Paul McCartney got a Lexus kitted out with Alcantara, the faux suede, which is approved by Peta," he said. |
| "But apparently he was a bit miffed about the carbon footprint when they flew it out to him instead of shipping it." | "But apparently he was a bit miffed about the carbon footprint when they flew it out to him instead of shipping it." |
| For many, choosing to avoid animal products is a way of life, and being forced to use a banknote containing tallow is simply unacceptable. | For many, choosing to avoid animal products is a way of life, and being forced to use a banknote containing tallow is simply unacceptable. |
| Damian Eade, co-owner of Havant-based ethical vegetarian company Vegeco Ltd, believes the notes contravene the Equalities Act 2010. | Damian Eade, co-owner of Havant-based ethical vegetarian company Vegeco Ltd, believes the notes contravene the Equalities Act 2010. |
| "We would never choose to carry products made from animal fat in our pockets. That is being imposed upon us by the Bank of England," he wrote in a letter to the UK's central bank. | "We would never choose to carry products made from animal fat in our pockets. That is being imposed upon us by the Bank of England," he wrote in a letter to the UK's central bank. |
| He suggests there is a case for indirect discrimination against a religion or belief, saying "a failure to immediately remove the animal fat from new notes and withdraw old ones would be a failure to make 'reasonable adjustment' towards millions of vegetarians, vegans, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, etc." | He suggests there is a case for indirect discrimination against a religion or belief, saying "a failure to immediately remove the animal fat from new notes and withdraw old ones would be a failure to make 'reasonable adjustment' towards millions of vegetarians, vegans, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, etc." |
| Mr Eade said making a legal case would present the hard facts and "take the emotion" out of the argument. | Mr Eade said making a legal case would present the hard facts and "take the emotion" out of the argument. |
| It has been calculated that the total amount of tallow contained in all the new banknotes equates to just over half a cow - but Mr Eade says that to argue there is "just a trace" of animal fat in each plastic fiver "misses the point completely". | It has been calculated that the total amount of tallow contained in all the new banknotes equates to just over half a cow - but Mr Eade says that to argue there is "just a trace" of animal fat in each plastic fiver "misses the point completely". |
| "Most people wouldn't feel it appropriate if a restaurant claimed there was only 'trace' of the chef's urine in the soup - or that a trace of child labour in your cheap clothes is not worth worrying about," he said. | "Most people wouldn't feel it appropriate if a restaurant claimed there was only 'trace' of the chef's urine in the soup - or that a trace of child labour in your cheap clothes is not worth worrying about," he said. |
| But Ms East, who runs a business selling vegan and spiritual jewellery and crafts, said she believed there were more important issues to deal with than the £5 note. | But Ms East, who runs a business selling vegan and spiritual jewellery and crafts, said she believed there were more important issues to deal with than the £5 note. |
| "You can say you're vegan, but if you buy non-organic fruit, it'll be covered in wax sometimes," she said. | |
| "We have to make choices on a daily basis - a holiday cottage I went to this year had a leather sofa in, and I chose to sit on it instead of the floor. | "We have to make choices on a daily basis - a holiday cottage I went to this year had a leather sofa in, and I chose to sit on it instead of the floor. |
| "Nobody can lead this perfect lifestyle. You can only do the best you can, and no-one's going to judge you. | "Nobody can lead this perfect lifestyle. You can only do the best you can, and no-one's going to judge you. |
| "If you're on a desert island and the only thing you can survive on is meat, what would you do? While I have a choice, I choose the vegan path, but self-preservation always comes through first." | "If you're on a desert island and the only thing you can survive on is meat, what would you do? While I have a choice, I choose the vegan path, but self-preservation always comes through first." |