LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The CDC estimates 450,000 Americans have been diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome. It's a red meat allergy that comes from certain tick bites. Some farmers are exploring some exotic red meat alternatives. Hannah Saad with member station WKMS reports.
HANNAH SAAD, BYLINE: Kentucky farmer Brent Williams grew up raising cattle.
BRENT WILLIAMS: My nickname since fifth grade is Beef.
SAAD: But he had to change course after a tick bit him, and he developed alpha-gal syndrome. He started researching meats that could rival beef's flavors and found an unexpected result - ostriches.
(SOUNDBITE OF OSTRICH GRUNTING)
SAAD: Williams started eating meat sourced from the African bird for special occasions. He liked it so much, he started to raise his own.
WILLIAMS: The more I thought about alpha-gal and the more about people that weren't able to eat any red meat, I just kept thinking, you know, I'm a farmer. Why can't I do this? Why can't we do this to help?
SAAD: Ostriches belong to a group of large, flightless birds like emus and rheas, and their meat is a little different than traditional poultry chickens and turkeys. Ostriches produce a dark red meat that looks like a beef steak but isn't. University of Kentucky nutrition professor Abbigail Pace says these meats have some selling points.
ABBIGAIL PACE: Ostrich meat has all the essential amino acids, so all the amino acids that our body can't make. And it's actually lower in fat than some of our other red meats.
SAAD: And importantly, for people with alpha-gal syndrome, ostrich meat lacks the carbohydrate galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose. People with alpha-gal have developed antibodies to this compound that's found in most mammals, and exposure to it triggers immune responses like hives, rashes and nausea. Pace says the condition is getting harder to ignore as the lone star tick population grows, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Deep South.
PACE: While not everyone may have symptoms, there are as many as 1 in 4 people who will have antibodies to alpha-gal at this point.
SAAD: Kenneth Todd, the owner of Papaw's Poole Mill Restaurant in rural western Kentucky, regularly ate beef until he was diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome. Then he tried some ostrich meat from Williams' Kentucky farm. Todd enjoyed it so much he added it to his menu.
KENNETH TODD: I've had people come in from three, four hours away just to get an alpha-gal burger, just to get an ostrich burger. And it's worked out good. And it feels good to help somebody that's in the same position I'm in.
SAAD: Somebody like Mark Geary (ph), who found out he had alpha-gal over the summer.
MARK GEARY: I thought, why not? You know, and if it's good, then it's probably going to be my go-to because the turkey just didn't - just doesn't cut it.
SAAD: Geary's food was prepared in a section of the restaurant's kitchen that is alpha-gal friendly, set up to prevent cross-contamination with mammal products. His review?
GEARY: It's pretty fire.
SAAD: Yeah?
GEARY: Yeah, that's fire.
SAAD: With the response he's seen to the ostrich burgers, Todd says he's considering creating a breakfast menu with ostrich sausage.
For NPR News, I'm Hannah Saad in Kentucky.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.