Food insufficiency across Central Asia leaves too many children malnourished. Although many people in Kazakhstan are self-sufficient for meat, the same cannot be said about dairy, which brings valuable protein, fats, and micronutrients to the diet. Orazov et al. show that food insecurity has improved in recent years in Kazakhstan, but childhood malnutrition continues to manifest as obesity, growth stunting, and wasting. Camels represent a small but growing fraction of livestock animals in Kazakhstan and are a source of both meat and milk. The high nutritional value of camel’s milk indicates that an increased focus on camel breeding and production of their milk could reduce malnutrition among young children.
Agriculture 11, 614 (2021).
