Q&A ยท 3:13:58-3:15:54

How modern military rations could change prewar stockpiles

Long-lived military rations could improve prewar stockpiling, although the broader effect of introducing them in the 1930s remains uncertain.

Question

How would modern Meals, Ready-to-Eat designs affect states if introduced during the 1930s?

Short answer

They would improve long-term food stockpiling and wartime supply planning, with particular value for import-dependent Britain.

Notes

Modern Meals, Ready-to-Eat and the knowledge to manufacture them could encourage countries to stockpile food before war. Their long storage life is the main advantage raised for British wartime food supplies. The C-ration is dated to about 1938, followed by the Meal, Combat, Individual and then the MRE. The counterfactual brings those later ration ideas into the 1930s, although the overall result is left uncertain.