Why do you eat?

[Madcat77]

I would say - "different reasons"...

from my time as college student, I know a lot of convenience food, canned food and canteen food. Based on my personal interest for military and history, I started with some old style EPa parts (earlies 80´s production). It tasted not bad or let me say "better then expected". But many friends of me serving in the German Army didn´t liked the stuff. So I compared it with regular canned food from Germany.

Later I found some guys on Youtube tasting some MRE´s and other food stuff like candies. As additional link, Youtube presented me a video from Steve. From then I consumed his videos (man this guy loves and lives MRE´s!) and the videos from gundog. I like the stil from both guys very much. Steve is a more professional "taster" and for me Gundog comes more from the practical side.

Now, I´m interested to try out different nations and find out something about the regional behaviors. F.e. I didn´t like the beverage drinks from the US MRE´s much. You could drink this stuff, but the taste, the flavour and color is so artificially compared with other nations. I could not understand why. But it looks like it is very typical for US people to drink sweet drinks with artificially flavor and color. (like the stuff from Gatorate f.e.)

[michel2827]

so why do it MRE's and Rations? That's a good question. I'm into MRE's and Rations for half a year now. I got into this by watching some reviews from RC Gusto and Steve1989. Something in my mind said to me, get yourself some Rations and try it. I was very interested in trying one because i never served in the army and got one there. Just wanted to know and try how it taste. I think my frist ration was a british ORP. They tasted really good and because i wanted to try different rations from other countries one thing leads to another. Today i have a stash of about 20 different rations and its growing. ...and still viewing ration reviews on youtube

[donaldjcheek]

Several reasons. Curiosity for one, seeing how the military of other nations provide for their troops. It also gives you an interesting cultural or psychological insight into the eating habits of other countries.

The historical aspect is another reason, seeing how rations have changed over the years. You can actually chart the influence of certain nations by the rations adopted by other nations.

Plus, it's just a fascinating subject.

[WorkmanMRE]

I have been working in kitchens on and off for almost 30 years. It fassinates me to enjoy delicous food that can last the effects of time. Shelf stable foods are my new passion.
I still create fresh food on a daily basis for my family and my clients......but the "MRE" or "shelf stable meal" , BLOWS MY MIND! I must try whatever i can get my hands on!

Great reading others responses. I can relate to them all. The best part is that we can come together here in common addiction of shelf stable foods. I love this community!
Cheers!

[ViperGTS]

Cause how else can u have "ribs" (menu 16) for dinner that are 2 years old

[Joseph W]

I dunno, there's just something fascinating about eating a whole meal out of a bag and having it actually taste fantastic.

Plus a bit of surprise since you never know exactly what you're going to get.

[blue87fj60]

Hey all. New guy first post and all.
Never realized until recently that there was a forum for MRE enthusiasts.
Been eating MRE’s since I was in basic training at Ft. Benning in 1983. We ate the old metal can C rations in the little box. Then went to the dark brown bags from there.
Worked on Ft Dix for a few years and we would always barter for cases in 90’s. Always needed a stock of them as we have been taking annual fishing trips up north for last 25 years and a couple cases of MRE’s were always the most convenient lunch on the water.
Of course a lot of bartering for the lemon pound cake and oatmeal bars always went on.
Always enjoyed eating them. Obviously some more than others lol.
I now regret throwing away all the older meals I had. And I mean I tossed a lot over the years. As I got newer ones.
Such is life I guess.

[RSMRE]

Some of us were in the military and ate rations regularly. So for us there's a nostalgia element.

I use rations as lunch when I'm fishing. A hot meal aboard a boat is a luxury, doubly so when the boat is a small kayak.

I'm most interested in the examination of what individual countries around the world deem to be "good enough" to give to their troops. Some countries put a lot of care and quality into what they issue, others not so much.

These are the top two answers for me. I remember eating them as a soldier and always wondered what other countries gave their troops.

[Eddo36]

Energy for going to gym and doing labor at work. Also balanced nutrition in case I'm lacking in a nutrient in my other meals of the day.

[housil]

I got addicted to 35 years ago...