On Sat, 14 Apr 2001, Mary wrote:

> Lois, you're right. Some of the parents on the various learning disabiltiy
> lists are finding their kids are sensitive to beef. The thought is that
> beef serum is  used in the vaccines and the body mounts a defense to the
> substance injected in their veins. Thus the body becomes sensitive to the
> beef antigen.

This may be the cause of the problem in some cases; it certainly
makes sense.  It wouldn't explain all meat allergies, however,
such as my friend's problem with duck, or other specific problems
with particular meats, such as lamb, etc.  I think there really
is just an element of luck in all this.

Also, my father had friends who had the beef allergy, and this
was before the era of vaccinations.  As I think I've mentioned
before, my father was unable to tolerate his mother's breast
milk.  They gave him, among other things, beef blood.  YOu would
think this early exposure to foreign proteins would have caused
some allergic problem, but apparently not.  He tolerates beef
just fine.  Likewise, I was unable to tolerate my mother's milk,
so I was given both condensed cow's milk and soy formula.  As an
adult, I don't particularly like milk, so it hasn't been a
sacrifice for me to give it up.  But it doesn't cause any
noticeable problem if I do drink it.

Todd Moody
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