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Keep this rule of thumb in mind: “Feathers and fins are fine.” It’s an expression you might begin hearing more frequently, amid rising cases of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), an acquired allergy to mammal products that affects as many as 450,000 people in the U.S. Because while pork, beef, lamb, venison and rabbit can provoke a dangerous allergic reaction in people with AGS, meats from birds and fish cause no problem.

Understanding Alpha-gal

Alpha-gal syndrome is a tick-borne condition that makes people allergic to products from mammals, including meat. It takes its name from galactose-α-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), a sugar molecule found in most mammals as well as in the ubiquitous food additive carrageenan, which is derived from red algae.

When a tick bite — generally from the lone star tick — transfers alpha-gal molecules into the human bloodstream, it can trigger the development of an allergy over a period of weeks or months. After the allergy develops, mammal products — including meat — can trigger a reaction. Often occurring two to eight hours after consumption of a mammal product, the allergic reaction can be mild or extreme, manifesting in a rash, itching, hives, gastrointestinal distress, joint pain, cardiac and breathing trouble, or even anaphylaxis.

A blood test can identify alpha-gal-specific antibodies to determine if symptoms are the result of the tick-borne allergy. However, as a relatively new diagnosis, AGS remains unfamiliar to many physicians, and connecting the dots between eating mammal meat and the delayed symptoms can take a long time to figure out. Complicating matters, since some medications are manufactured with mammal products or carrageenan, people treating AGS symptoms could unknowingly be ingesting medicines that exacerbate their problems.

Keep in mind it wasn’t until 2009 that a University of Virginia study explored the connection between lone star tick bites and delayed allergic reactions to mammal meat, bringing the unexpected connection into the AGS diagnostic mix. Tennessee began requiring healthcare providers to report AGS cases as of July 1, 2025.

Advocacy groups are working to raise awareness among physicians and patients by distributing information about tick-borne disease, encouraging physicians to consider AGS earlier in the diagnosis conversation, and pushing to add alpha-gal to the list of major allergens on food labels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have created a training module for healthcare providers to help expedite diagnosis.

The Alpha-gal Diet

While there is no cure for AGS, research suggests that avoiding mammal meat and additional exposure to tick bites may reduce sensitivity in some cases. But some cases are so persistent and severe they warrant carrying an EpiPen.

Avoiding AGS triggers, including cross-contaminations of food and fumes, takes more than just skipping obvious meats. It takes caution and a careful review of ingredients. For example, chicken sausages can be wrapped in pork casings. Potatoes can be fried in beef tallow. Candies and marshmallows can contain gelatin from beef and pork. Dairy products can adversely affect some people with the allergy. Carrageenan, a thickener in ice cream and other products (including some medications), can trigger an AGS response. The growing body of literature — scientific and consumer-friendly — can help navigate sources of galactose-α-1,3-galactose.

When it comes to feathers and fins, there’s a diverse menagerie of proteins available online and at specialty retailers, including ostrich, emu and alligator. There’s even pork genetically modified to be safe for alpha-gal diets.

While alternative meats can be more expensive and challenging to source than other alpha-gal-friendly options, like chicken and salmon, they can be prepared in recipes that outshine the mainstream meats they’re subbing for. Once you’ve had ostrich steak frites and alligator tacos, you might never go back to the originals.