2007年VOA标准英语-Camel Milk Transforms Mauritania's Herding Life

By Phuong Tran
Nouakchott, Mauritania
20 August 2007

Camel milk has been honored as a gourmet¹ food by Italy, as a poverty reducer by the United Nations and as a blessing² by those who work with camels, for its healing power. A British physicist³ convinced Mauritanians, two decades ago, to part with their animals' sacred milk. Since then, camel cash has changed Mauritania's nomadic⁴ lifestyle. Advocates say, if camels could earn respect outside the desert world, they could change even more. Phuong Tran brings us this report from Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Amadou Gouh with his camels

For as long as Amadou Gouh can remember, his family has raised camels in Mauritania's desert. He still milks them at dawn every day. But he was the first in his family to sell its milk to a local pasteurization plant, called Tiviski.

He says he started with five camels his father gave him. Now, he has 155 of them, worth $80,000. The herder says he has become rich through the grace of God, and his camels' milk.

Herders deliver milk, Rosso, Mauritania

Gouh directs his team of herders to deliver the milk at Tiviski's collection center in the capital, where cars pull up alongside donkey carts loaded with milk cans.

Tiviski's president says about 1,000 herders deliver milk, twice a day.

Nancy Abeiderrahmane is a British nuclear physicist who came up with the idea for a milk business, three decades ago. She did not understand why Mauritanians imported milk when they had milk-producing animals, next door in the desert.

But it was a long slow start.

Nancy Abeiderrahmane

"I did not realize how bad it was that there was a traditional reluctance⁵ to sell milk, you would call it a taboo," she said. "Selling milk in the desert is considered miserly. It is considered mean and they say it leaves poverty as a heritage. Anyone who has any pride would never dream of selling milk. I suppose it is like water and air. Something God gives and you share it around, you do not sell it."

But slowly, the herders agreed to sell their animals' milk. Last year, they sold 400,000 tons to Tiviksi, at almost 60 cents a kilogram.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has found camel milk to be a good way to decrease not only widespread poverty in the desert, but also malnutrition⁶.

Camels can produce milk, even under harsh conditions, which can feed local communities.

Israeli physiology⁷ professor Reuven Yagil wanted to find out camels' secret.

"I took the camel as the supreme⁸ animal, surviving in the desert, to see what allows it to go without water, very poor food, in the heat of the sun," said Yagil. "And, then I came around to see how it could produce food when all the other food animals are dying."

Three decades later, he is still traveling around the world to research and promote camel products. Yagil says camels' immune system is close to humans, which he says makes its milk a potential cure for anything from allergies⁹ to autism.

Researchers near desert communities in India and the Middle East have long published studies about camel milk as a promising¹⁰ aid in the fight against allergies, diabetes¹¹ and even face wrinkles.

Camel herders making daily deliveries at Tiviski's plant

But most these institutions do not have the money to conduct large expensive studies that would widen acceptance of camel products in the international medical community.

Physiologist¹² Yagil says people far from the desert do not see camels' worth.

"The interest is growing, but it has not reached a stage where we can put it on the market. There is still a lot of mysticism," added Yagil. "There is a feeling a camel is an ancient animal. It has got no value anymore in this world and that has to be conquered first."

Even if people do not accept camel milk as a medical cure-all, Yagil says it simply tastes good. In addition to milk, some camel products on the market include camel chocolate, cheese, ice cream and yogurt. 

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, there are about 20 million camels in the world, with most believed to be in Somalia. Most camel milk comes from Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

1 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

4 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

5 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

6 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

7 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

12 physiologist   

n.生理学家

参考例句：

• Russian physiologist who observed conditioned salivary responses in dogs (1849-1936). （1849-1936）苏联生理学家，在狗身上观察到唾液条件反射，曾获1904年诺贝尔生理学-医学奖。
• The physiologist recently studied indicated that evening exercises beneficially. 生理学家新近研究表明，傍晚锻炼最为有益。