By ignoring the context, he’s just being a lazy writer trying to take a backhanded slap at the military powers-that-be by accusing them of providing substandard food.
Originally from: http://www.contracostatimes.com/living/ci_6019449
As if war weren’t difficult enough
By Phil Vettel
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Article Launched: 05/30/2007 03:04:29 AM PDT
After forcing down just a few spoonfuls of the food they’re expected to eat every day, I have an even deeper appreciation and concern for our men and women in uniform.
Small wonder our servicemen are having trouble maintaining weight, if what I tasted is representative of what they’re fed in the field. This dreck could (and perhaps should) be repackaged as diet food, because, despite the high caloric content, I can’t imagine anyone finishing the stuff. The MRE Diet could sweep the nation, although there might be landfill issues down the road.
I sampled two main courses and a dessert, and here are my reactions:
Beef roast with vegetables: Absolutely awful. The meat’s texture is soggy, the vegetables have been ground into indecipherable bits (apart from the tell-tale orange of the carrot fragments) and the gravy is reminiscent of something from a can. With a wagging dog on the label.
Penne pasta with spicy vegetable sausage: At first blush, acceptable. The pasta is predictably limp (canned supermarket pasta suffers the same fate), but the tomato sauce isn’t horrendous and some vaguely fennel-like substance has been applied to the vegetarian sausage. But the seasoning has a chemical aftertaste and, 15 minutes later, the tip of my tongue was still tingling suspiciously. Not a good sign.
Crunchy toffee cookie: Actually good! It comes out of its protective pouch looking like an actual cookie, has a pleasantly crunchy texture and imparts discernible butter and caramel flavors. Among our troops, these crunchy treats must be worth their weight in gold.
