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World Service,4 mins

Do you care about the ingredients in your banknotes?

World Business Report

Available for over a year

When the Bank of England launched a new plastic five pound note recently, it ran into a firestorm of protest from vegans, Hindus and Sikhs. That's because it contains a miniscule amount of tallow, which is made from animal fat, often using cows - a sacred animal for Hindus. To avoid controversy, for the next iteration of the twenty pound note, the Bank is considering using palm oil instead. That has riled conservationists. They say palm oil production leads to the destruction of rainforests. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Mike Johnson talks to Satish Sharma, general secretary of the UK National Council of Hindu Temples and Rachel Agnew, of the UK conservation group the Rainforest Foundation, about their views on the change from tallow to palm oil. Picture: The UK 5 pound note with the logo prominent against an out of focus blue sky. Photo credit: AIPhotographic

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