alt.hn

5/13/2026 at 12:34:48 AM

US Army goes green-ish, wants soldiers munching on plant proteins

https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/05/12/us-army-eyes-alternative-proteins-for-soldiers-in-the-field/5238969

by Bender

5/13/2026 at 1:05:55 AM

If animal protein tastes bad anyway, maybe it's actually better to go with plant-based protein that's (probably) easier to eat.

by zshiro

5/13/2026 at 3:08:01 AM

I would think that the animal protein sucked cause of the number of processes that it went through to be able to last years without spoiling. And seems like they aren't focus on taste on the new protein either.

by ChicknNuggt

5/13/2026 at 12:51:30 AM

This is a pretty good example of the difference between plant-based and vegan.

by xvxvx

5/13/2026 at 8:35:00 AM

That's right. Related quote:

> The four or so vegetarian options in the overall MRE lineup were always the first to go when I was in.

> Most weren’t choosing the veggie MREs for alignment with their personal ethics so much as that they wanted a meal that didn’t suck.

by aziaziazi

5/13/2026 at 8:10:14 AM

"plant protiens" = ultra mega maximaly proccessed " food* "

there will be a great deal of compasionate hand wringing about palitability, texture, etc

* stuff/goo/extract/product/substance

by metalman

5/13/2026 at 9:02:26 AM

Non-meat MRE are already tastier that meat ones (see also [0]):

> Not only did they replace military mystery MRE meat with something more appealing to eat out of an envelope, but they were actually tasty

They seems to take the processing route indeed, which is usually more appreciated if you only account for taste: most people prefer cakes than wholemeal wheat.

> Gel/semi-solid formats, dry powder mixes, [and] sauce-style components [...] gel packs stuffed with fermented mushroom protein and other nutrients

However that's a preparation choice and not a (high-prot plant-based) necessity: - tempeh is already delicious and nutritive with two steps: cook + ferment - patties can be made with whole seeds like hemp or pumpkin - brewer yeast is cheap, tasty and it's just the leftover of the beer creation process.

Moreover I doubt meat-based MRE contains only meat: lack of fibers would lead to constipation which is not great on the battelfield.

0 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48119293

by aziaziazi

5/13/2026 at 12:50:44 AM

Wonder how long before Hegseth goes berserk over this, branding it woke (or whatever the insult of the week is)?

by jethronethro

5/13/2026 at 3:51:46 AM

I am sure there are great arguments for the plant based food but I suspect there will be some contracts handed out to friends. It is not likely to be complained about at high levels.

by tocs3