When Clark Giles first heard that dust mites could cause meat allergies in humans, he found the idea so far-fetched that he thought it was “a big deal.” And in 2022, it happened to him. After repeatedly being bitten by ticks, he suddenly went into anaphylaxis after eating a hamburger. His lips were numb, his face was swollen, and his skin was “like a carpet of red from my knees to my shoulders,” he said. Giles, who raises sheep on his farm in Oklahoma, eventually had to give up not only beef but also pork and, yes, even lamb.
From there, his allergies started manifesting themselves in strange ways. During the season of childbirth, the post-natal odor made her head dizzy, fatigued, and she suffered from joint pain for many days. Nitrile gloves are required to handle the sheep. He now needs a ventilator to collect their feces and urine. And Giles hasn’t experienced the worst of the people he knows. A friend of mine with the same allergy got very sick and had to give up his sheep completely.
This rare allergy is most often caused by the solitary star mite, whose saliva triggers an immune response to alpha-gal, a molecule found in most non-human mammals. This allergy is also known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS). In recent years, the Lone Star tick has been crawling north and west away from its habitat. historical rangeLocated in the southeastern United States. (In fact, Oklahoma is on the verge of that; ticks are more prevalent in the East than in the West.) Alpha-gal syndrome is also suspected. rising. Farmers who spend their days outdoors are particularly exposed to lone star mites. repeated bites May cause more severe reactions. As a result, Giles is one of a group of farmers who, ironically, have developed allergies to the animals they raise.
There are no official figures on the number of farmers affected by alpha-gal syndrome. But Virginia Agriculture Deputy Commissioner Charles Greene said AGS is widespread enough that he plans to provide a safe food option for alpha gals at the state’s upcoming annual convention. He said there is. Greene herself developed allergies after being bitten by a tick on her family’s farm. And I’m not the only Secretary of Agriculture I’ve interviewed with this condition. A few years ago, I spoke with the agriculture secretary of North Carolina, a top hog-producing state, but his regular job meant he was no longer able to do so. , “Eats more barbecue than any other human on the planet.”
For most people with AGS, avoiding mammalian meat is sufficient. But for those who are more sensitive, anything of mammalian origin is off the table, including dairy products, wool, gelatin, lanolin, and even lesser-known products such as: Magnesium stearatea fat derivative often found in tablets and drug capsules. And for highly sensitive farmers like Giles, even fumes from fertilizers, dander, and amniotic fluid can cause a reaction. “It’s not just one thing, it’s much broader. Please don’t eat this. the, Don’t touch me. don’t use it. don’t be near itsays Jenna Alcott, who is no longer able to help out on her family’s small cattle farm in Missouri. Farmers with severe AGS find it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to care for their livestock.
Sonya Bowes has lost count of the number of tick bites she gets on her small farm in rural Kentucky. She says it’s difficult to avoid them when caring for animals that graze in tall grass. She knew something was wrong when she started experiencing mysterious symptoms that turned out to be signs of an allergic reaction, such as a sudden drop in blood pressure around dairy cows. She could no longer milk the cow without getting sick. When we spoke last week, she had already sold her three cows and rabbits. She also plans to sell her pigs, although she will probably suffer a financial loss since she can no longer care for them. Bowes’ small farm was her livelihood and lifelong dream. Giving up on that dream was “a real shock.”
Antonia Florence and her husband downsized their Virginia ranch after losing a calf after an allergic reaction became so severe that she was unable to physically assist during the birth. “We had to step back and ask ourselves, ‘Did that calf die because we couldn’t care for it?'” she says. “It wasn’t ethical.” Cow amniotic fluid is known to contain alpha-gal, which anecdotally appears to be a strong trigger for AGS. But sometimes it’s simply unavoidable. If a calf gets stuck during birth, the farmer may have to get up shoulder-deep inside the mother cow to help. When Alcott helped pull her husband’s stuck calf, she said the liquid that splashed onto her skin made it swell and red everywhere, as if it had been burned. a case study Spanish researchers also recorded three cattle workers who reacted to touching or even breathing amniotic fluid.
A second factor in the Florences’ decision was that their livestock also had another tick-borne disease called theileriosis. This cattle parasite does not affect humans, but managing it requires farmers to have access to the cattle, which Florence and her husband no longer have access to. Together, these two tick-borne diseases are devastating their farms, she said. Although raising cattle was not their only source of income, the couple devoted themselves to the endeavor “every night, every weekend, and every holiday.” Her husband also grew up on the farm, and some of the animals they raise trace their lineage back to his grandfather’s cows. Unable to give up his animals completely, he still has about 10 cows, but the mother cow and calf are no longer there. Florence worries about the negative health effects of constant contact with animals to which she is allergic. He recently needed a pacemaker, and she wonders if that is related to the increased risk of heart disease from AGS.
Alpha-gal syndrome forces affected farmers to ask existential questions not only about their identity as farmers, but even about the long-term viability of their industry. AGS remains abnormal and may be underdiagnosed. According to a study published in 2023, 42% of healthcare providers I had never heard of the syndrome. But as the lone star tick continues to spread across the country, more Americans may eventually be unable to eat beef and pork. (Of course, those who oppose eating animals from ethical and environmental standpoints may see cosmic justice in the spread of alpha-gal syndrome.) One bioethicist, inspired by the lone star tick, He once proposed reducing the world’s consumption of red meat. immune intolerance Also. )
Several farmers I spoke to are considering switching to raising poultry for people other than those with AGS, and this includes not only chicken but also exotic species such as emus and ostriches. Masu. This large, flightless bird has red meat that closely resembles beef, making it popular in the AGS community. In fact, Olcott raises these birds for himself on his family’s ranch. They have already butchered and eaten ostriches, saying, “It tastes no different from beef,” and they still have four emus. She jokes with her husband about switching their entire farm to emu and ostrich as a more sustainable source of red meat. He hasn’t sold yet. But he’s been much more careful with ticks lately.
