‘It tastes exactly like beef.’ For people with a life-threatening allergy to red meat, an ostrich burger can bring them to the verge of tears

When a friend approached Brent Williams four years ago with a business proposition to start an ostrich farm, he was more than intrigued — he had a personal motivation as someone who developed a life-threatening allergy to red meat, triggered by tick bites.

The problem, known as alpha-gal syndrome, was first linked to a particular species of ticks about 15 years ago. But cases are on the rise as more people report symptoms such as hives, diarrhea and itchiness after eating as little as a mouthful of red meat. The allergy doesn’t extend to seafood or poultry. Chicken, turkey and eggs are all OK to eat.

And so is ostrich meat.

The flightless bird’s meat, red in color and high in iron, has a look and taste similar to beef.

“The people that have alpha-gal that I talked to that have tried an ostrich burger, most of them are almost in tears,” said Williams, a nutritionist and partner at Alpha Roost Farms in Danville, Kentucky. They say, “You just don’t know how bad I missed this.”

Many who are allergic to red meat are turning to ostrich meat

The farm is looking to nearly double its herd by next year. It recently built a new barn for hatchlings of the birds, which are native to Africa and are the world’s largest, standing at nine feet tall (2.7 meters) and weighing more than 300 pounds (136 kilograms). The farm has more than 400 birds, and expects that number to grow to 700 by next year.

Alpha Roost Farms owner W.D. King, who approached Williams with the idea of raising........

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