Why the US dropped MREs instead of Humanitarian Daily Rations over Gaza
The US has dropped 38,000 MREs over Gaza.
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED MAR 4, 2024 5:28 PM EST
The thousands of meals that U.S. C-130 cargo planes dropped onto a beach in Gaza included many that U.S. troops would recognize like spaghetti with beef sauce, chili with beans, and chicken noodles in vegetable sauce, according to a video shared on X.
The weekend airdrop of relief supplies to the beleaguered population inside Gaza was more than 38,000 military-grade Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs, according to the Pentagon. The drop did not include bulk quantities of staples like rice, flour, or prepackaged Humanitarian Daily Rations, or HDRs, whose nutritional content is specifically designed to reach malnourished people.
Each HDR contains at least 2,200 calories, compared to the 1,300 calories in an MRE, according to a U.S. Army pamphlet on Defense Department rations. An individual HDR includes enough nutritional value to sustain a moderately malnourished person for a day. The nutritional value of an individual HDR breaks down to roughly 10-13% protein, 27-30% fat, and at least 60% carbohydrates.
“In order to provide the widest possible acceptance from the variety of potential consumers with diverse religious and dietary restrictions from around the world, the HDR contains no animal products or animal by-products, except that minimal amounts of dairy products are permitted,” the pamphlet says.
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