How interesting. I didn't have a problem eating meat as a child and enjoyed most of the foods my mom made, but I wanted to be vegetarian because I didn't want to eat animals. I never broached the subject because as a farm boy, I knew my father would never accept this rebellion against his upbringing.

However, shortly after getting married, I started getting sick any time I had red meat, especially in dishes where red meat and dairy were mixed. I would be in pain and throwing up for three days. When I realized I was throwing up beef every time, that was the end of my consumption of red meat. (No, I have never had a tick bite that I know of, but alpha-gal may be carried by mosquitos or other vectors that we don't know of.)

In searching for non-red-meat recipes, I discovered veganism, and was an immediate convert (more than 30 years ago.)

But one interesting twist - I was always borderline anemic as a teen. The first time I had a normal hemoglobin test was after I went vegan. I've never had a low one since.