I’m posting the following in this thread because I don’t know where such a thread would belong, and because the cattle industry is part of what drives climate change.
Our eldest told me about alpha-gal. It is the cause of a syndrome that results in an allergy to food made from mammals. The allergy can be deadly. The alpha-gal syndrome is believed to be predominantly spread by Lone Star ticks, though ticks in other countries can carry alpha-gal, too. The name alpha-gal reminds me of Mother Nature.
I wasn’t surprised this info was new to me when I learned it was first described in 2002, and was linked to ingesting mammal based products, not only flesh and milk, but derivatives, too, in 2008. The syndrome is now an emerging concern, as “reported cases of AGS are still on the rise. Salzer’s report recorded over 90,000 suspected AGS cases from 2017 to 2022; nearly three times the 34,000 suspected cases documented between 2010 and 2018.”
The resulting allergy might well last the rest of an individual’s life.
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/alpha-gal/index.html
https://www.statnews.com/2023/07/27/alpha-gal-syndrome-lone-star-tick-bite-red-meat-allergy/
tldr
Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) is a sugar molecule found in most mammals.
Alpha-gal is not found in fish, reptiles, birds, or people.
Alpha-gal can be found in meat (pork, beef, rabbit, lamb, venison, etc.) and products made from mammals (including gelatin, cow’s milk, and milk products).
Contracting AGS could mean that your next hamburger or steak, will end your life.