The ‘Sommerhaus der Stars 2024’ starts a new season on RTL+ from September 10 and on RTL from September 17. As the broadcaster announced on its website, a new feature has been introduced in the upcoming 9th season: The contestants can dine on meat-free ingredients. [1] This marks the first time a vegetarian diet has been introduced in the format.
While stars like vegan model Tessa Bergmeier welcome the decision in favor of animals, other participants take issue with the meat-free fare. We have shed light on their arguments and why the complaints are baseless, according to PETA Germany.
Vegetarian Diet on ‘Sommerhaus der Stars 2024’: Participants Show Speciesism
Since 2016, the show has stirred up feelings among participants and audiences alike. In this format, well-known couples move into a rustic house in North Rhine-Westphalia’s Bocholt for several weeks and compete in challenging games for coveted prize money.
This year, RTL announced a change: ‘Sommerhaus der Stars 2024’ will be meat-free. Instead of serving the remains of sentient beings like chickens, cows, or pigs, the participants will receive plant-based foods such as legumes, rice, salad, or tofu—more than enough for a balanced diet. Unfortunately, this season does not take place without animal suffering: The menu is only vegetarian. Participants still receive animal-derived products like eggs, milk, and cheese for cooking.
The mere absence of meat has already sparked fierce reactions from some participants, including trash-TV star Gloria Glumac, Sam Dylan, and actor Raúl Richter. These individuals clearly demonstrate their lack of empathy and exhibit speciesist statements.
Carnistic Statement: ‘Some animals are just here to be eaten’
For example, Can, the husband of TV star Alessia Herren, says, ‘Some animals are just here to be eaten.’ [1] — a highly unethical, life-denying statement that is easily debunked. Because:
Can’s statement is a prime example of the belief system known as carnism. This ideology is deeply entrenched in society and purports that it is normal to eat certain animals while loving and protecting others. Carnism is the invisible and completely arbitrary justification that leads us to perceive pigs, cows, or chickens as ‘livestock,’ despite the fact that they, like dogs or cats, have feelings and can suffer.
Carnism obscures the suffering that animals endure in the animal industry—confined cages, cruel killings—and makes it easy to ignore their pain. Yet every animal has the same right to a life of freedom and without pain.
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Example Facts: This is how animals suffer in the animal industry
- In German slaughterhouses, around 745 million animals are killed each year. [2]
- Most live under catastrophic conditions in industrial animal husbandry: in cramped spaces, among their feces, and on painful floors. Diseases are widespread, and animals are often subjected to forced insemination.
- Cows are taken from their mothers, and they suffer from fear of death during transport to the slaughterhouse.
- Improper anesthesia leads to many animals being killed while fully conscious. Fish and sea creatures also suffer painfully through suffocation or being boiled alive.
In addition, there are many other cruelties and deprivations that animals must endure daily due to human exploitation.
Why is Speciesism Such a Big Problem in Our Society?
Speciesism is deeply rooted in our society and causes humans to evaluate animals based on their perceived ‘utility.’ This mindset leads to billions of living beings being exploited, abused, and tortured in the most horrific ways, simply because they belong to a different species and are thus degraded. Animals, however, feel pain, fear, and joy just like we do. Yet they are often treated as lifeless materials—to be exploited for food, clothing, or entertainment in TV formats like reality shows.
This unequal treatment is based on arbitrary, human-created categories that distinguish between ‘valuable’ and ‘usable’ animals. By questioning speciesist thought patterns, we recognize that every life is valuable and that no being should suffer or die for human interests. The fact is: We humans are also animals and are no more valuable than other species.
‘Sommerhaus der Stars’ Participants: 4 Speciesist Statements Debunked
When meat-eating individuals are confronted with their contradictory behavior, their own justifications often falter. This leads to defensive reactions such as stress or anger, as they feel confronted with their own behavior.
Below, we clarify further statements from participants in the ‘Sommerhaus der Stars 2024’ that symbolically represent the society’s meat paradox—and show why they are wrong.
1. Reality Icon Sam Dylan:
‘Vegan? They can lick my a**! If there’s no meat in the food, I’m missing something, and that’s the same with sex. There’s something missing in vegan sex.’ [1]
With this statement, Sam Dylan shows that he does not understand what the beautiful side of the world is really about. Good sex is primarily characterized by consent. Something that animals in the meat industry are consistently denied from birth to their untimely death.
Mutual consent, hence vegan sex, pertains not only to intercourse but also to contraceptives and aids like toys or hygiene products. What many do not know: The production of condoms, lubricants, and sex toys often uses materials like leather or ingredients like casein (milk protein), for which animals suffer and die. Therefore, it is important that not only vegan individuals pay attention to animal-free alternatives when it comes to contraceptives and aids.
2. Reality Personality Gloria Glumac:
‘I eat meat almost every day. I don’t want to eat carbohydrates; my body screams for meat. I don’t feel full if I haven’t eaten meat. I feel so empty…’ [1]
A balanced vegan diet provides all the necessary nutrients to be healthy and fit. [3] To stay healthy, these are essential—regardless of where these nutrients come from. Proteins are a good example: We don’t need meat, as many plant-based foods like tofu, legumes, nuts, and whole grains are rich in proteins.
Moreover, numerous studies indicate the negative consequences of meat consumption for our health:
- Increased risk of cardiovascular diseases: Meat, especially red and processed meat, can lead to high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels. [4]
- Cancer risk: The consumption of processed meat has been linked to a higher risk of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer. [5]
- Type 2 diabetes: A high meat consumption can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. [6]
- Antibiotic resistance: Meat, especially from animals treated with antibiotics, can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. [7, 8]
3. Actor Raúl Richter:
‘I love steak! And I’m a self-determined, free person; that’s how I was raised and how I want to live. I also need meat, and I don’t want to be dictated regarding my food. I just want to eat meat.’ [1]
Many vegans may enjoy the taste of steak, sausages, or other animal products—but actively choose plant-based alternatives out of compassion. Nowadays, those living vegan do not have to give up anything, as the variety of tasty vegan products available keeps growing.
At the same time, the animals exploited and killed for their meat, eggs, or other “products” have no choice in how to determine their lives—and also their deaths. Humans take away all their freedom. This ranges from artificial insemination, i.e., sexual abuse, to having the date of death, often set for long before reaching a possible life expectancy, determined on the day of birth. A vegan lifestyle and diet is more than just a personal choice. Living vegan means taking responsibility for the animals, the environment, and oneself.
Those who choose a vegan diet choose the freedom of countless living beings. It is not about dictating people—it is about recognizing the unimaginable suffering of billions of other animals and acting morally. Two minutes of short pleasure can never justify the lifelong oppression and death of an animal in our advanced society with countless alternatives.
4. Stefan Kleist, partner of model Theresia Fischer:
‘As a dentist, I must say: The human dentition is an omnivore’s dentition.’ [1]
It is true that the human dentition exhibits features of an so-called omnivorous dentition, such as incisors and molars for tearing and grinding food. However, this does not mean that we must consume meat. A balanced vegan diet supplies all the necessary nutrients.
Gorilla dentition, for example, is also very robust and resembles ours. [8] Male gorillas have long, pointed canines that they can use to defend their family. Nonetheless, gorillas primarily consume plant-based foods like wild fruits, leaves, shoots, and bark. Just because our dentition is capable of tearing meat does not obligate us to do so.
Many studies show that a plant-based diet offers numerous health benefits—such as reducing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. [3] Furthermore, humans have evolved to adapt to a diverse diet that can also be entirely plant-based.
Why is Being Vegetarian Not Enough?
Although a vegetarian diet causes less animal suffering than a meat-based one, it remains problematic regarding animal cruelty, environmental pollution, and health risks. Cows and hens suffer for their whole lives for milk and eggs and are brutally killed at the end. Calves, pigs, and other ‘livestock’ end up in slaughterhouses long before reaching their possible life expectancy. Animals are also imprisoned, abused, exploited, and sometimes killed in animal experiments, for clothing production, in zoos, circuses, or through the cruel ‘pet trade.’
A vegan lifestyle protects not only animals but also the climate and nature, as livestock farming generates large amounts of greenhouse gases and rainforests are cleared for animal feed.
The decision-makers of ‘Sommerhaus der Stars 2024’ have taken a good first step by opting for meatless fare in the 9th season and set a preliminary sign against animal exploitation during the show’s run. We at PETA Germany welcome the change and recommend a fully vegan diet for future seasons. Because, sadly, a vegetarian diet is not enough in the long term to stop animal exploitation.
Nutrition
What does vegetarian mean exactly and what is the difference to vegan? Here you can learn everything about vegetarian nutrition!
Act on Your Values: Go Vegan with Veganstart
Want to go vegan and need tips to ease the transition? In our free Veganstart app, you’ll find useful information about vegan living for 30 days. Additionally, a large recipe database and our vegan shopping guide await you, ensuring you never miss out on vegan products again.
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Sources
[1] RTL (06.09.2024): NOT everyone likes this! A real premiere awaits the Sommerhaus celebrities, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[2] Federal Statistical Office (2024): Animals and Animal Products: Slaughters, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[3] Melina, V., Craig, W. & Levin, S. (2016): Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[4] Ärzteblatt (11.12.2020): Study: The consumption of red meat increases the risk of heart attacks, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[5] Consumer Center (20.06.2024): WHO: Processed meat carcinogenic?, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[6] Bayerischer Rundfunk (26.02.2024): Consumption of red meat increases the risk of diabetes, (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[7] World Animal Protection: Global Public Health Cost of Antimicrobial Resistance Related to Antibiotic Use on Factory Farms, https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/sites/default/files/media/global-public-health-technical-report_0.pdf (accessed on 10.09.2024)
[8] Max Planck Society (06.08.2019): Gorillas as Nutcrackers, (accessed on 10.09.2024)