"The camel may be the next cow," according to two Oxford University professors.
Global demand for camel milk as an alternative to cow, sheep and goat milk is "burgeoning", Ariell Ahearn (lecturer in human geography) and Dawn Chatty (professor of anthropology and forced migration) wrote in The Conversation. It's low in fat and lactose while high in nutrients, and so is attracting health-conscious consumers.
The global camel dairy market hit $7.5 billion (£6 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 (£10 billion) by the end of the decade, said Ahearn and Chatty. To meet that demand camels are "increasingly being enclosed in vast Middle Eastern dairy farms" and milked by machines.
Camel milk production plays "an important role" in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, said Dairy Global. But over the past two decades interest from other parts of the world has grown, with an increasing awareness of its health benefits "driving the surge".
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 content.
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, and in 2021 about 64% of the world's camel milk production came from Somalia and Kenya.
Camels also produce less methane – which New Scientist calls the "most significant" contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide – than cows or sheep.
In some ways camels are "ideal livestock for the next climate reality", said Ahearn and Chatty. | 
