Originally posted by Milsurp:
Doesn't meet the requirement of locally obtained, but how about Coast Guard rations? They are advertised as being a 3-day's supply of food, but I'm sure that is based on sitting in a life boat and not the high activity level required for patrolling. Still they are reasonably priced with a 5-year shelf life and 100% of the recommended vitamins and minerals.
3600 Calorie ER Food Bar If your plan is to just survive while expending little to no energy at all (like sitting in a life raft waiting to be rescued) then those rations are just barely adequate (barely).
They don't have any protein in them, at all. They don't have any fats, at all (there are essential fatty acids, just like essential vitamins). They provide little energy.
About the only thing worse than those is the so-called food tablets that are floating around. They don't even provide the carbohydrate energy that the lifeboat rations do.
A regular solider in combat (in temperate climates) REQUIRES over 3000 Calories of energy a day. A soldier actively patrolling, in cold climates, or under a great deal of stress can require twice that amount, or more.
