Do you think this is a bit OTT?

A vegetarian restaurant in Cambridge is refusing to accept the new £5 note as it contains animal by products.

Now, to me this seems to be way over the top as surely the same people are handling things on a daily basis that are somehow connected to animals.

Maybe I just don't get it because I dont belong to the vegetarian tree hugging society

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-38184599

Sheer idiocy, IMO. I am sure there's a landline in the restaurant next to which is almost certainly at least one ballpoint pen with printed menus and calling cards conveniently sitting nearby. They (almost) certainly have a cash register and a credit card machine or two. If they insist on refusing to accept the new fivers, then logic dictates that they must dispose of their landline, mobile phones and anything else containing plastics (among certain other manufactured items)as they will all contain trace amounts of animal fat (tallow). And that's precisely what the Bank of England should have told the vegans.

Besides which, I believe I am correct in believing that they can not refuse to accept the new fiver as it is legal tender. They can always exchange it at a bank of their choosing.

It does seem a little extreme to me for the reasons you've mentioned, its got to be virtually impossible to manoeuvre your way through the average day without coming into contact with something that at the least has a tenuous link to animals.

I was rather wondering if the restaurant in question was taking issue with the new £5 note just to get publicity for their business. Just think of the cost involved now to make the new fiver veggie friendly.

i can understand vegetarians refusing to eat the new £5 note.

They should stop drinking, breathing and walking.

Every time you drink, you are ingesting microbes which are also animals.

When you breathe, you breathe in microbes too.

When you walk, you are actually stepping on insects and microbes.

Everything we do involves killing something. We just aren't aware of it most of the time.

Humans are at the top of the food chain for a reason.

I very much doubt whether they are allowed to refuse to accept legal tender, (or the customer could at least insist that they do). And being as it's only a £5 note, they could not use the excuse that they don't have change. But as Phineas T. Barnum said; "There is no such thing as bad publicity."

I must say I have always found vegetarians strange, they don't seem to fit into real life too much.

I really don't know how vegans exist, just eating pond weed everyday surely cannot do your body any good at all, odd people.

i'm a vegetarian !

nothing better than a pile of crisply fried chips and mushrooms to go with a thick rare steak.

Yes I can see that, your avatar is a bit of a giveaway

Maybe you should think of having a picture of a sprout as your avatar.

When I was growing up, we couldn't afford to be vegetarians or vegans or have a special diet.

I mean I don't mind eating veggies/gulays but am not really choosy. Even if it's just tortang talong/eggplant omelet, tuyo, sardines, meatloaf, pancit canton, etc. it's food.

Whatever in the table, eat it. Else just go and starve.

Fried chicken, adobo, lechon were treats!

Swerte ka may kinakain ka. Ibang bata wala. (You are lucky you have something to eat, while other children starve.)

I heard that a lot growing up.

no shortage of rice then!

We can have as much as we want. Hahahaha...

But now, I only crave for rice twice or trice a month.