"The camel may be the next cow," Oxford University professors Ariell Ahearn and Dawn Chatty said at The Conversation. Global demand for camel milk as an alternative to cow, sheep and goat milk is "burgeoning," especially among health-conscious consumers attracted to its low fat and lactose content and higher nutrients.
The global camel dairy market hit $7.5 billion last year, said the International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group (IMARC). The industry is forecast to grow rapidly, potentially worth up to $13 billion by the end of the decade, Ahearn and Chatty said. To meet that demand camels are "increasingly being enclosed in vast Middle Eastern dairy farms" and milked by machines.Â
Camel milk production plays an "important role" in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, said Dairy Global. Although more expensive than cow's milk, camel milk is far richer in vitamin C, vitamin B, iron, calcium and other nutrients, and far lower in lactose and fat.
And camels are "uniquely resilient to climate change," said Ahearn and Chatty. They can go for days with little water, surviving on sparse vegetation. Grassroots farmers in Africa have been switching from cattle to camels to better cope with droughts. In 2021, about 64% of the world's camel milk production came from Somalia and Kenya.Â
Camels also produce less methane — the most significant contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide — than cows or sheep. In some ways, Ahearn and Chatty said, camels are "ideal livestock for the next climate reality." | 
