Magdy El Ashram’s ambitions would not only bring camel meat, which he says is healthier than beef, to dinner tables around the world, it would also reduce a feral camel population in the Australian outback that has caused serious ecological problems, and create up to 300 jobs in a place that badly needs them. “Camel meat is much better than beef... it’s the lesser fat than all the meat kingdom. If you put beef, mutton, kangaroo, emu any meat, then camel meat will be the lesser fat than all of them,” he said. “Camel is a popular food in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, and Australia has the resources to provide meat to people who like it.” Originally introduced in 1840, mainly from India to provide transport, there are currently more than 1 million feral camels roaming over 3 million square km of outback Australia, breeding at a rate that doubles their population every nine years. The animals cause more than Australian dollars 10 million a year in damage to fragile outback ecosystems.
