Why The MRE Should Be The Core Of Your Survival Food Plan

issueÂ 06

June 2018

NL4S Your Adventure Start Here

Survival Food Plan If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been around long enough on this planet, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll come to realize that there really is no place on earth that is completely safe from some kind of natural disaster. Sure, there are places like the Pacific Northwest that have very few windstorms, almost no hurricanes, few floods, and the snowstorms only last for a few days, but everybody remembers Mt. St. Helens blowing its top and the 100-foot wall of water, trees, boulders, and homes rushing down the mountain.

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It could have been worse had the surrounding area actually had residents, but instead it was a hundred square miles of trees blown flat in 5 minutes. Suffice to say, nobody is immune from disasters, conflicts, and other problems that may necessitate preparation in advance. One of the absolute best ways to prepare is with Meals Ready to Eat since they are perfect for the long-term storage of meals. Here is a brief history, and some tips on choosing the best MREs on the market.

The Basic MRE Was Made For The US Serviceman In The Field Feeding soldiers in the field have been

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a problem since the beginning of civilization. Even thousands of years ago, wars were won or lost because of the hunger and starvation of the warriors in battle. The best way to win a war hundreds of years ago was to cut off the food and water to the soldiers, and they would give up and go home within a week if they could still walk.

In modern times, the Armed Forces of the United States have kept feeding their troops a balanced high-calorie meal 2 to 3 times a day a very high priority. The use of MREs is supposed to be limited to 2 meals a day with an additional â&#x20AC;&#x153;home cookedâ&#x20AC;? meal at least once a day.

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This is for troops that are spending weeks or months in the field, walking up to a dozen miles a day with weapons, ammo, and other items weighing 95 to 135 lbs.

The Longevity And Toughness Make The MRE Hard To Beat

The first, and maybe most crucial fact about MREs, is that the bags they come in can take a pretty good beating and still keep the food inside edible and mostly undamaged. That isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t to say you should mistreat your MREs, far from it, but if you fall down a ravine and land upside down on your MREs,

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they’ll most likely still be okay.

They can take the heat of Desert Storm, although it’s better if they don’t. They can take extreme freezing, again, it’s better if they don’t, and they actually last far longer than their shelflife date, and yet again, it’s better that they don’t. The fact is, they’re pretty tough inside the outer bag and then have separate inner bags protecting the individual food items. Even though the US Armed Forces were supposed always to have one cooked meal per day, you might not have that luxury in a disaster, and if you have to, you can eat MREs for a month and not suffer

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any ill side effects, it’s been done.

Things To Watch For When Buying MREs

There are now a variety of different manufacturers, some are the same as the US Military and others not. When you buy your MREs online, avoid those that have been used, or deployed and not eaten, by any of the various military branches. Most likely they’re fine, but maybe they were stored in a 130F warehouse in the Iraqi desert for a year, you can’t know. You should also consider adding dried foods such as beans and rice in sealed containers as well as purified water to your stored

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emergency food plan.

Also, read the online reviews and do your online research about the manufacturer of the product, including the taste, the calories, included extras, longevity, and durability. By reading all you can online, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be assured of getting a great product that you can depend on in an emergency because sooner or later, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coming.