Peer Review
Prepare a peer review, critique on student paper below discussing on Modern War and Society: MREs and Food.
Student paper- Modern War and Society: MREs and Food
From Army to Marines, Navy, and Air Force, all branches of the United States military use it. The Department of Defense established a program that provided basic sustenance to soldiers on the field. No longer is it obligatory to be apart of the military, it is possible for anyone to purchase MREs or Meals Ready to Eat. For nearly 200 years, these meals have consisted of some type of proteins like beef or pork, beer/cider to spaghetti, Salisbury steak, coffee, and fruit punch. Sustainable items like these and many others make up these high caloric meals that can combat hunger while performing training duties, during wartime, or binge watching a television show. The history of field rations and their influence on both the military and even the civilian public is apparent.
In 1775, a year before America declared its independence from Great Britain, the Continental Army concluded that militants who were enlisted to serve, should deserve meal rations. These easily packaged meals contained a soldier’s dietary essentials. Provisions to deliver energy-fueled nutrients in a soldier included a protein, like pork of fish; carbohydrates, such as flour; and milk typically were included in a day’s meal. It was later discovered that not providing a certain type of vitamin or minerals most often found in fruits, vegetables, or supplements, led to illness or even death.
World War I acted as a catalyst, the driving force that paved the way for creation of meal supplements for soldiers. One of the first types of these meals was known as “trench” meals because it was able to feed up to a two dozen men in close quarter, narrow ditches, as explained by Darsch and Brandler. Another type of rations, C-Rats, was created in 1938 to replace the meals used during WWI. Then, during World War II, the demand for these supplements proved even more dire. The development of field rations from what was once the main staple necessary to feed soldiers, has evolved into packed shelf stable bundles for the modern military and have found its way into the hearts of modern society through outdoors enthusiasts and doomsday preppers.
It is not only these civilians who enjoy MREs, any member of society can partake in a soldier’s meal, if so desired, but also these types of rations have been procured extensively during national or world emergencies as food sources for those affected. Consumers, including civilian and military, have been entrusted in testing out a variety of MREs to determine if the meals provided are liked or disliked and the overall lifespan of the MRE itself, which has been determined to be around three years. Despite improvements, criticism still remains. It is inconceivable to appease everyone, but the purpose of the survey was to determine shelf-life and better tasting options of a majority. Complaints of the providing rations beyond the expiration date and specific requests made were often left disregarded. Despite complaints, MREs are still viewed as a favorite among civilians and everyday travelers and an important sector within the industry of food and science. Whether home or abroad, military, or civilian, feeding the masses is an intimidating task. With the assistance of food preservation discoveries, food rations or MREs, can be distributed throughout the world and found in local stores.
There have been many varieties of field rations and MREs, from the Revolutionary War to the modern era, that have kept members of the military and civilians alive. Supply-change demand allowed the military to feed its service people instead of forcing them to strip a countryside bare. The history of field rations may have started nearly 250 years ago, but its future is an ever-changing formula with expansion of biochemistry and molecular nutrition. In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, a normal order of MREs went from one packaged meal a week, to over 100 requests a day. Everyday citizens who at one point believed they would never own an MRE, not only own them but have tested them out and now keep them as a backup subsistence. As times change, along with technology, so does food and this includes MREs. The change in these meals have grown from lacking essential vitamins, to containing a balanced meal supplement. Soldiers were no longer required to forge for food, a meal was provided for them. That meal is now available to any individual who would like to experience what a typical solider may eat on the field. The purpose of making these meals available to the public have been debated from noting them as enjoyable to wanting an emergency stash of sustainable food sources.
