num_pages: 304
description: Americans eat more processed foods than anyone else in the world. We also spend more on military research. These two seemingly unrelated facts are inextricably linked. If you ever wondered how ready-to-eat foods infiltrated your kitchen youll love this entertaining romp through the secret military history of practically everything you buy at the supermarket.In a nondescript Boston suburb in a handful of low buildings buffered by trees and a lake a group of men and women spend their days researching testing tasting and producing the foods that form the bedrock of the American diet. If you stumbled into the facility you might think the technicians dressed in lab coats and the shiny kitchen equipment belonged to one of the giant food conglomerates responsible for your favorite brand of frozen pizza or microwavable breakfast burritos. So youd be surprised to learn that youve just entered the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center ground zero for the processed food industry.Ever since Napoleon armies have sought better ways to preserve store and transport food for battle. As part of this quest although most people dont realize it the U.S. military spearheaded the invention of energy bars restructured meat extended-life bread instant coffee and much more. But theres been an insidious mission because the military enlisted industryhuge corporations such as ADM ConAgra General Mills Hershey Hormel Mars Nabisco Reynolds Smithfield Swift Tyson and Unileverto help develop and manufacture food for soldiers on the front line over the years combat rations or the key technologies used in engineering them have ended up dominating grocery store shelves and refrigerator cases. TV dinners the cheese powder in snack foods cling wrap . . . The list is almost endless.Now food writer Anastacia Marx de Salcedo scrutinizes the world of processed food and its long relationship with the militaryunveiling the twists turns successes failures and products that have found their way from the armed forces and contractors laboratories into our kitchens. In developing these rations the army was looking for some of the very same qualities as we do in our hectic fast-paced twenty-first-century portability ease of preparation extended shelf life at room temperature affordability and appeal to even the least adventurous eaters. In other words the military has us chowing down like special ops.What is the effect of such a diet eatenas it is by soldiers and most consumersday in and day out year after year? We dont really know. Were the guinea pigs in a giant public health experiment one in which science and technology at the beck and call of the military have taken over our kitchens.
language: English
title: Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat
publisher: Current