Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a tick-borne illness that causes the human recipients to develop an allergic reaction to meat. Officially classified in the 2000s, this disease remains unknown to most people, including many doctors. Yet it affects an estimated 450,000 people in the United States alone, according to the CDC.
AGS is unusual in that it does not depend on a pathogen to spread. The saliva of various species of tick contains the sugar galactose-α-1,3-galactose ("alpha-gal"), a molecule common in many mammals but notably not in humans and other primates. When alpha-gal is joined by immune-skewing proteins also present in ticks' saliva, humans can be left with an overactive immune response to alpha-gal, which notably occurs when consuming meat.
While some with Alpha-gal syndrome are able to moderate their consumption and treat with pharmaceuticals, the vast majority are forced to give up meat entirely as well as refrain from other mammalian animal products such as milk and gelatin. The implications on well-being here are enormous.
Americans consume an average of 100 pounds of red meat per year. 450,000 cases of AGS means about 45 million pounds of meat consumption forgone, which amounts to over 200,000 mammal lives saved from the torturous conditions of factory farms and the undignified end of being killed for food.
450,000 cases is not enough. By expanding the incidence of Alpha-gal syndrome, we can save millions of lives. Breeding ticks with AGS is straightforward because it does not require the maintenance of a pathogen. The Lone Star tick is the most common bearer of AGS in the US. It would be trivially simple to set up small-scale tick farms right now. All that is required is a few host animals and a small population of Lone Star ticks. With philanthropic funding, we could see investment in larger scale production and disbursement. If we can infect just 10% of the US population, we can cut factory farm mammal production by 15+ million lives.
If the philanthropic funding is unavailable, there are also for-profit investment opportunities. I'm currently working on the prototype of the Tick Your Friends™ at-home AGS application kit. As a vegan myself, I know how much personal utility is lost when my social groups are caught up discussing about where to go out to eat together. Half the time I just throw my hands up and join them at the burger joint, miserably eating a plate of fries (if I'm lucky-- half the time they're cooked in animal fat!) Tick Your Friends will help cut out those transaction costs and make going out much simpler. Each kit comes with a small population of Lone Star sticks, a breeding guide, and a friend applicator. I'm also working on an auto-applicator so those who are worried about exposing nonhuman animals to parasites have the opportunity to complete the breeding stages without harming others. I currently seek an angel investor to get a large enough production run for randomized testing of the prototype kit. If you'd like to know more, I'll tell you all about it at the next Bay Area house party!
Alpha-gal syndrome is a high-steaks cause area that is rarely discussed. Whether through philanthropy or venture capital, there is lots of room to beef up this high-impact cause area.
