MRE's have come a long way since they were first invented for use for the United States military. In the beginning, the meals were convenient, but they did not taste very good.
This resulted in name calling of these food packages. These names included things such as "Mr.E"(mystery), "Meals Rejected by Everyone", "Meals, Rarely Edible", and "Meals Rejected by the Enemy".
On top of these names, a few of the meals had their own nicknames. For example, "the four fingers of death" was a common name for a meal of frankfurters which came in packages of four.
Despite improvements in quality of the meals, many of these names have stuck to the dinners. The name calling became so bad that the MRE's started to be called "Three Lies for the Price of One."
This name referred to the fact that the troops saw the MRE's as inedible, unready, and they did not consider it to be a true meal. In addition, the low fiber content would cause constipation among the troops.
Likewise, many of the nutritional additives that were supposed to have been added to the MRE's were not actually added. All of these things combined to cause a great dislike for the meals among the troops.
Shortly after studies were performed among the troops that found that the majority of them were not getting enough calories or enough of the proper nutrients. Following these studies, improvements in the nutritional content, taste, and convenience of the MRE's were made.
Despite these improvements, many of the names and superstitions that had been developed about the MRE's have stuck around. For example, it came to be jokingly believed by some of the troops that it was bad luck to get a Charms candy in your MRE's package and extremely bad luck to actually eat it.
This superstition is most likely attributed to a simple dislike of the candies. Finally in March of 2007, The Salt Lake Tribune hosted a test tasting of the 18 MRE meals.
The test tasting was performed by three gourmet chefs. On a scale from one to ten, none of the meals scored an average higher than 5.7.
In addition, the Chicken Fajita meal was considered the worst as far as taste with an average of 1.3. Even in 2007 the MRE meals still did not taste very good.
MRE's were initially developed for use in the military, but they have found other uses as well. For example, the National Guard and other organizations have provided MRE's to those who have undergone a natural disaster and have need of food.
The use of MRE's outside of military purposes became somewhat controversial at this point. The meals are specifically designed for a person who is on the battlefield with many calories and a high concentration of sodium.
These nutritional changes may not be healthy for people in non-combat situations where they do not need the salt or the calories.
Other meals that are similar to MRE's have been developed since then for the other uses. One of these meals is the Tailored Operation Training Meal (TOTM).
These meals are also used by troops and they have the same kind of nutritional balance. However, these meals are tailored to meet religious needs or other dietary needs.
For example, so of these meals are Kosher for those who follow the Jewish tradition. They have even developed a meal that meets the specifications for the Passover meal.
The Humanitarian daily ration is a Halal meal that is designed to meet the needs of refuges and others who have been displaced from their home environment. This ration provides enough food for one person for an entire day.
Several of these meals are also designed to fit religious and cultural tastes of various peoples around the world. It is very similar to an MRE, but with a better nutritional content for the differing situations.
The Meal, Cold Weather is very similar to an MRE, but it can withstand lower temperatures than the MRE can. This meal contains freeze-dried food that is intended to be prepared with hot water.
These meals are generally the same as the MRE's, but have more drink mixes to encourage staying hydrated. The Ration, Cold Weather was the predecessor to these types of meals.
The Meal, Long Range Patrol is very similar to the MCW, but includes varying accessory packs. These meals are created for troops who are no expected to receive very much, if any, resupply and they are entering a situation where the weight of the ration will be important.
Author Resource:-
Tommy Greene is an accomplished expert in family preparedness and has been giving seminars for over 15 years. He recommends that everyone haveMRE Meals in their emergency food storage.
Contact Info:
Tommy Greene
TommyGreene09@gmail.com
(http://www.foodinsurance.com/freeze_dried_food/mre_comparison.php)
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