The Camel Milk, Not the Camel Milk

I released an email message about the entry of camel milk in the world milk day event. All the camel stakeholders were copied in the email.

Here is the first email in the ensuing lines.

Good evening and Ramadan Kareem, As you know the 1st of June is declared as world milk day and celebrated each year. This event gives us a great opportunity to talk about the importance of camels as milk livestock. I hereby ask for your kind attention to please share your ideas regarding the potential of the camel as dairy/milk animals. In the last 2 decades, the camel has managed to make its space among dairy animals. The camel milk is also worth appreciating as a superfood and helps in different health challenges. I just share a page of camel milk, you can flourish your knowledge about camel milk. We are going to have a strong but representative voice on the eve of the world milk day. Your suggestions and thoughts are more than welcome. https://camel4all.info/index.php/about/camel4milk/Those of you who are interested to join our forum camel4life international on WhatsApp is also welcome. Best regards

There were many replies in support, agreeing to have entry in the world milk day. Many more good suggestions were received. But one reply altered the whole process and turned the discussion in a wrong way. 

Email From Dr. Rafat,

I have read your email and would like to share my views with you and your respected group. I believe we have talked about this before, but it wouldn’t hurt to communicate my views again. I want to confirm that there is no science to support the claims that camel milk has medicinal benefits. Containing certain compounds does not qualify camel milk to be a medicine. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims.  Researchers who made these claims have failed to produce solid data from well-designed and properly conducted human clinical trials to support these claims. Scientists, genuine researchers, and reputable research and academic institutions are facing some serious challenges. The biggest two challenges facing scientific research and publications are flawed peer-reviewing processes and the growing number of predatory journals. These journals are spreading inaccurate and flawed science. Information published in these journals gives some desperate and vulnerable patients false hope and promises. These promises cannot be scientifically verified or critically examined. This means putting the lives of some patients who have already exhausted standard treatments at risk of trying unfounded alternative therapies. This is not only unethical but dangerous and may be treated as a criminal.

We are going through a very difficult time with the world facing the vicious COVID-19 pandemic, we certainly need to remain focused, do the right thing and not make unfounded promises. People trust us and often take what we say seriously. We should not abuse their trust and give them the wrong advice. We should not mix our personal beliefs with science, as it may turn nasty and become a recipe for disaster.

Regarding the camel milk, our focus should be on the nutritional aspects of camel milk and addressing its potential role in feeding the millions of hungry children living under poverty in Africa. According to a British briefing paper on sustainable development goals (SDG) on child poverty in Africa, 87 million African children will be born into poverty each year in the 2020s. They estimated that 304.7 million sub-Saharan African children (aged 0–19) will be living in extreme poverty in 2030. Poverty is associated with malnutrition, a condition that can be alleviated to an extent by a litre of camel milk a day.

A nice paragraph to add and end my email (received today from a friend):
There is a virus that kills 8500 children every day, the name of a virus is HUNGER and the vaccine for it is available, it is FOOD. Unfortunately, this does not attract the level of attention that it should, arguably because it does not affect the WEALTHY. We may be able to help those in need.

I hope this would help
Wishing you all good health, peace and prosperity, stay safe
Regards
Rafat

The Organizer of the Camel4Life International Response (author response)

Dear Rafat, Good Morning,

Thanks for your detailed response about the suggestion to participate in the world milk day as a camel milk group. Sir, if you look into my email again with a cool mind, you will not find anything, I have said to introduce camel milk as drug or treatment in the world milk day. You just spoke about the issues which were not mentioned in the whole text. My email was just about a simple entry to the world milk day and project the camel milk. You could just simply suggest the camel milk as the food for the poor people in the driest regions rather than stoning the camel milk and proving it a mean and normal food. You just tried to make doubts in the peoples’ minds about the camel milk. You nullified all the traditional knowledge and the efforts of the scientists with one sentence that the published articles have no value because you do not think that the journals are well peer-reviewed. As you brought this issue in discussion, I very dare to say that the camel milk has healing effects (not a drug), as it is ultrarich with very important nutrients and it is already published in the peer-reviewed scientific publications. Can you deny that camel milk is free of CAP, and intolerance lactose? The autistic mothers I have spoken saying that their kids cannot digest dairy products (allergy issues) and have sleep problems. But when they put them on the camel milk, their guts responded better, it helped in digestion and good sleep. The camel milk actually supports the healing process but not do the treatment. I’m one of the best examples of the camel milk as I was near to die with rheumatoid arthritis, unable to move and consumed high doses of antibiotics and steroids (doctor prescriptions) but no improvement. When, I shifted to the camel people, staying with them and consuming fresh camel milk, I recovered in 3 months and started climbing mountains. Though I have no published data in peer-reviewed journals I have the concreted reason that camel milk helps in the healing process.The role of camel milk as support therapy in diabetes is well accepted and there are some publications too. It does not mean to sit idle and consume camel milk, diabetes will go away. It means that the camel milk will give you balance nutrients, empowering you of a good walk, and lessening the requirement of insulin doses. We never claim camel milk as a drug but a healing agent, supportive product, and helping agent in certain ill conditions. We never suggested camel milk as a cure for autism disease. But it helps in digestion, sleep patterns, and improvement in overall mood. It is not criminal at all to point out the goodness of a certain thing but the crime is to hide the importance of a thing or item like camel milk. You said that ‘Containing certain compounds do not qualify camel milk to be a medicine’ which is totally wrong. All the medicine are composed of some molecules derived from some products and the same does the camel milk. Can you deny that camel milk has many times more Vit C, folic acid, Omega 3, and other compounds more than all the other milk? Do you think these compounds will have no effects on the body? About the trials, more data, and the scientific publication, everything will come with the course of time. You just look back, how many publications were there 10 years before about the potential of the camel as a dairy animal? The people made a joke about me when I was saying that camel can produce up to 35 kg of milk per day. Now, I personally know the camels with this level of yield and there is solid data. I never claimed that all the camels produce 35 kg milk per day, yes but some camels can reach this level which gives an opportunity for selection of dairy camels. We are not putting the lives of the people at risk at all. We never suggested taking the camel milk and it will solve all your diseases. We always said that camel milk has healing effects not only because of certain compounds but also having unique balance/composition and coming from the animal (super resilient power) which is thriving on a wide range of special vegetation. Please read my email again, what the wrong advice I have given? What trust of the people I have broken. I think you just jumped into the issue and started criticizing my school of thought. I think your problem is that why I’m taking the lead for camel issues not that the camel milk has no value. Your email is showing your anger which is very painful. You really disappointed me and tried to nullify all the efforts we have done for the camel milk in the last 15 years. I must mention here, that I’m proud of my role as educating the people about the role of camel milk and promoting this health promising agent at all levels my best. I’m very happy that all my efforts have come very successfully and now the people around the world are coming to camel milk. The demand for camel milk is ever-increasing and many new organizations are coming in the camel milk business. It is very hard to fulfill the demand for camel milk. Many people have approached me demanding hundred of tons of camel milk powder. In the last 2 years, more than 5 organizations have come forward and soon their camel milk brands will be in the market. The price for the lactating camels have increased manifolds (a good source of income for the poor camel keepers), and there is a great move of selection for elite lactating camels. The camels’ world is changing and making its space as milk entity and superfood. The people with cow milk allergy and lactose intolerance have a great choice rather than to depend on vegetable white fluids (almond, soy, cocoa, etc), as I say the milk only comes from the mammary gland, not from the seeds and fruits. I’m very confident to give an entry in the world milk day and project camel milk in this international event. I hope 99% of the camel stakeholders (farmers, academics, scientists, activists, and camel milk lovers) will support my thoughts and will help the camel cause. 

Thanks very much.