The Army is asking for volunteers to eat Meals Ready to Eat — and nothing but — for six weeks for a study on gut health. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on MREs and the jokes soldiers crack about them.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Soldiers must face many dangers - exhaustion, battle, loneliness and MREs.</s>SCOTT SIMON, HOST: MREs are the vacuum-packed food that soldiers eat on deployment. The initials mean meals ready to eat, but over the years, soldiers have developed many alternative explanations, including meals refused by everyone, meals rejected by the enemy and lots of other permutations best left for conversations in a bunker.</s>SCOTT SIMON, HOST: I've eaten lot of MREs while war reporting. Most people don't join the Army and expect to be fed by Nigella Lawson. U.S. Army dietitians really seem to do their best to provide for a range of tastes, from standard American comfort food to Latin American and Asian specialties. But soldiers always wind up comparing the beef stew to dog food and the meatballs with marinara sauce to something the dog left behind.</s>SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Now the U.S. Army is asking for volunteers to eat MREs and nothing but, for three weeks. They want to see what an unrelenting diet does to a human being's digestive system, in search for ways in which the meals might be improved.</s>SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Volunteers must be willing to have their blood drawn and submit themselves to other medical exams. Participants will be paid $200. But so far, there is no Purple Heart awarded for eating MREs.