“You have to love the unknown”: in the north, Julien Job produces and sells milk and camel cheese. A unique approach in France but not so incongruous, given the growth of demand and the ecological virtues of the camel. The cows are grazing in the Green Bocate of fakes, not far from the Maroilles Production Area, the emblematic cheese of Hauts-De-France. But in the neighboring meadow, the dromedaries, the camels and the camels of Bortria display their great silhouettes labeled.
This 80 -headed herd is, with much, the most important in France and one of the largest in Europe. The 43 -year -old atypical breeder, Julien Job, worked as an animal bearer for zoos and circuses before launching his “camera” in 2015. If France has other camelid farms, especially operated for agrotourism, the first is the first to obtain European health approval that allows milk and dairy products to be market.
A feat: because still 15 years ago, Camel Milk, who does not naturally question, was considered inappropriate for cheese production. On its website, the campist offers pasteurized camel milk, kefir (fermented milk) and even more punctually, the increase in Fagnes and Camelhoumi: two cheeses developed with the support of the researchers who earned Julien Job a medal with “World Cheese Awards” in Kazakhstan in 2024.
In its online store, the “camelhoumi” of 120 grams is sold to 18 euros, or 150 euros per kilogram. For the “Bosse des Fagnes”, 16.50 euros are needed for an 80 grams cheese, or around 200 euros per kilogram. The 50 centiliters bottle of pasteurized camel milk is sold for 8.50 euros.
“I’ve been looking for it for 13 years”
Very rich in vitamin C than cow’s milk, easier to digest for lactose intolerant people, rich in non -healthy fatty acids, camel milk is often considered a super fed. Studies also explore their possible effects on cancer cells, the regulation of blood sugar in diabetics and autism.
“There is around this milk a mixture of legends, empirical observations and scientific truths,” says Bernard Faye, emeritus researcher at the International Cooperation Center in Agronomic Research for Development. But it emphasizes “certain effects of health on regular consumers.” While Julien Job prepares to milks his camels, which palate loudly due to the separation of their young people, customers in search of milk arrive at the camera.
“I have been looking for it for 13 years and I discover that it is here,” exclaims mamadou niakaté, a maibeugeugeis of Mali. Traditionally, camel milk was produced by nomads in arid or semi-desert regions and reserved for self-consumption. But in recent decades, intensive farms have appeared in Gulf countries and global demand has exploded. With climate change, new countries are also betting on camel agriculture, from sub -Saharan Africa to the United States.
Able to value poor vegetation, the camel consumes much less than a cow of the same weight, and since it has no hooves, damages the soils less. It can also be used in echo -friendly to eliminate brambles, thistles and ortigas. “This is one of the only races of animals that survive between -40 ° C and +40 ° C,” says Christian Schoettl, president of the French Federation for the development of camelids. “Our climates are quite happy climates for them.”
Fake camels thus show beautiful blows larger than desert camels. Only a possible HIC, moisture, a problem that Julien Job solves by administering them deworming a little more than he would do for cattle.
Ten times less than a cow
Despite an annual growth in the demand for more than 8% in Europe, at 17 euros per liter, the milk of its camels remains a luxury product, not close to the supplanted cow’s milk. Cheese, whose manufacturing requires large amounts of milk, must remain more marginal. “A camel produces 2 to 3 liters per day (ten times less than a cow Norman, an editor’s note), one year in two,” said Julien Job while the beautiful liquid circulates in the pipes of his milking machine.
The prohibition of importing camels from outside Europe, in the absence of a sector recognized in this area, does not help improve productivity. Julien Job also attracts his income from the sale of milk, but also tourism, with walks on camel backs and the sale of small men.
Source: BFM TV
