Landwirtschaftliche Versicherungsverein Münster (LVM) is a very large car insurer and, with more than three million vehicles, is currently number four in the German market. But right now, society is being very rudely reminded of its roots in agriculture and that, as an agricultural insurance association, you shouldn’t simply criticize eating meat.
It all started when the LVM decided to participate in the so-called Veganuary this year. For a month, employees of the insurer can eat vegan dishes in addition to the usual dishes in the canteen at the main location in Münster. That goes down well with the workforce.
Editors who are supposed to add content to insurers’ channels on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn always have to fight for every meaningful snippet of news. There’s just not much to report. No wonder that the official LVM channels reported widely about the Veganuary – unfortunately with very unpleasant consequences for the insurer.
Because farmers feel cheated by society and even threaten to terminate insurance contracts. The LVM operates “disgusting agitation” and is a “vile company”, commented angry users on the insurer’s social channels.
The stumbling block was a post in which the LVM illustrated what a million people achieve when they eat vegan for 31 days. The result: 103,840 tons of CO2 equivalents and 6.2 million liters of water could be saved, and 3.4 million animal lives were spared. The figures are based on a study by Harvard University.
The farming community sees the post, which has since been deleted, as an attack on their business model. The Free Farmers, a nationwide advocacy group for family farms, are demanding a public apology and a clear positioning of the insurer on animal husbandry. The association has even drafted a letter of apology for CEO Mathias Kleuker to sign and publish. “Rural animal husbandry in Germany makes a significant contribution to food security,” Kleuker is said to explain. “Rural animal husbandry deals responsibly with the creatures entrusted to it,” the free farmers put in his mouth. And he should write: “We apologize to all farmers for the participation of the LVM in the Veganuary.”
It is unlikely that Kleuker will adopt this explanation. But the LVM is contrite in a letter to customers: “Our social media post has caused irritation among many of our customers from agriculture, which we can well understand.” In addition, the company had poorly prepared the topic and “cited figures worth discussing”. The LVM stands for openness and not for recommending people a lifestyle.
The insurer plans to continue offering vegan food in the canteen this month. “We will not change the canteen plan now,” said a spokesman. However, it could be that the kitchen team moves away from the project due to public criticism. “That is decided by the team and not by the management,” said the spokesman.