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Preface
The food of an army is very important to the soldiers, and if they eat well and eat well, they will have the energy to protect the country, but the food of the army of some countries is not satisfactory.
South Korea can eat rat droppings, India eats "pig food", and even the former British Empire, the army food is jaw-dropping.
What's going on here? Take stock of the four countries with the worst diets.
South Korean army food
From 2017 to 2022, the Ministry of National Defense received 118 reports of "foreign objects found in the food of officers and soldiers", with a wide variety of foreign bodies, including pests, plastics, metals, and even mouse droppings.
This is reminiscent of the Korean War in the 50s of the 20th century, when the US troops stationed in South Korea discarded "luxury" canned foods such as meat, cheese, sausages, etc. in large quantities.
South Korean soldiers dug out the leftovers from the garbage heap and added local spicy cabbage to cook it into a "delicacy".
The daily food cost of South Korean soldiers is only 2,144 won per person, about 11.3 yuan, which is difficult to meet basic needs.
Their three meals a day are mainly white rice, supplemented by low-protein foods such as soy products and seaweed, and very little meat appears on the table.
Long-term service under such conditions will inevitably have a serious impact on the physical and mental health of South Korean servicemen.
There are also comments pointing out that South Korea has the highest incidence of stomach cancer in the world, which is also related to the capture of kimchi in the army's food to a certain extent.
However, there is also a certain degree of rationality in the problem of food for the South Korean army. The country's lack of natural resources has led to the need to feed tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers stationed in the country. Against this background, the South Korean army's "small business" is understandable.
The South Korean National Assembly debated the matter, but the motion to increase military spending was ultimately rejected. After all, South Korea is facing serious problems such as an aging population, and all departments are struggling to support it.
How to improve the food for military personnel and ensure their physical and mental health in the face of resource constraints is still an urgent problem for the South Korean defense department.
Indian army food
India's army is huge, with more than 1.3 million troops in the army, navy and air force, but this huge army is facing the dilemma of not having enough to eat, and the food of grassroots soldiers is often inferior to that of pigs and dogs. This phenomenon seems incompatible with India's $80 billion a year in defense spending.
As a matter of fact, the lion's share of the high military spending is taken up by the purchase of weapons and equipment. The Rafale fighter, which has a unit price of up to 300 million US dollars, is far less cost-effective than similar models.
Military spending also pays for the maintenance and renewal of weapons, soldiers' salaries and benefits, and other items. By the time it comes to the end of the meal, there is not much left.
Grassroots soldiers regard the military as a job to support their families, and they are unable to raise their motivation. Middle-level officers are rent-seeking, and travel expenses are reimbursed under various names.
Almost all of the money is spent on non-essential items, and when it comes time to prepare a budget, it is inevitable that the budget will be made to ensure that the project is face-saving first, and then try to reduce the invisible expenses such as food costs.
The Indian diet is high in carbohydrates and low in vegetables. And for religious reasons, pigs and beef are rarely eaten. Curries and fried foods that are a must-have at every meal are high in calories.
This high-carb, low-protein diet, combined with the lack of exercise in the barracks, has led to a high obesity rate among grassroots soldiers, and various metabolic diseases have also been heard from time to time.
In order to reduce expenses, the logistics department even replaced regular meals with cheap pig feed, which was used to make curry soup, and relied on the calyptic peppers to fool the soldiers.
If it weren't for the occasional discovery of the cook's conscience, I don't know how long this shocking shady curtain would have been hidden. In stark contrast to the high-consumption weapons and equipment, it is difficult for grassroots soldiers to even ensure food and clothing.
This has led to numerous internal contradictions in the army, and in recent years nearly 800 soldiers have committed suicide, accounting for about the size of a battalion. According to the analysis of experts, this is directly related to the pressure on people's livelihood such as food problems.
British army food
Britain has long been known as the "gastronomic desert of Europe", and is world-renowned for its dark cooking techniques and barren food culture.
British food is not only difficult to swallow, but also very harmful to the body. Excessively greasy foods and high-sugar and high-calorie drinks are everywhere, and the per capita incidence of fatty liver disease in the UK is the highest in the world.
Although Britain's glorious history as a world power is a thing of the past, and its military power is even more famous, the strange style of British food has endured.
For the average British person, their daily meals can be described as varied, from greasy fish and chips to unpalatable baked beans.
And for the British soldiers, their food situation was even worse than expected.
Britain's national power is now declining, and its defense spending is no longer as good as it used to be. According to relevant statistics, the daily food cost of British individual soldiers is only 2.45 pounds, about 21 yuan.
In comparison, military dogs that also serve in the British Army have a daily food cost of up to £4.27. The stark contrast between the food of British soldiers and military dogs is enough to show how stretched the logistics of the British army is.
In fact, in the heyday of the British Empire, British soldiers did not have much to eat, and they had to cook on the battlefield by themselves, so you can imagine how difficult the combat environment was.
Now the food situation of the British army has deteriorated to an outrageous level.
According to the British soldiers, their daily diet is mainly based on cheap ingredients such as pickles, potatoes and bread.
The storage conditions of these ingredients are extremely poor, and mold and deterioration are not uncommon, even if pigs eat these foods, I am afraid they will vomit and diarrhea. It can be said that the poor food of the British army has seriously affected its military combat effectiveness.
Japan Self-Defense Forces food
The food of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is relatively simple, and each meal can only ensure the most basic caloric needs, from rice and soup for breakfast to the main course for lunch.
Their breakfast is usually a small bowl of rice, served with a small cup of miso soup and a few slices of dried fish. Lunch and dinner are similar, with the main addition being common dishes, but the portions are small and often not full.
What is even more incredible is that some officers and men at the grassroots level still have the behavior of rubbing food, which shows how scarce food is in ordinary times. Such a situation may seem implausible in developed Asia.
Of course, problems with the food of the armies of these countries are also an isolated phenomenon, but even if it is a normal meal, it may not be the best.
After knowing the countries with the worst military food in the world, does anyone wonder what the food of our national army is like?
Food for the Chinese army
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our army faced a difficult economic environment, and the blockade of the Japanese invaders made the purchase of grain seriously insufficient, and rice, flour and other grains and oils were extremely scarce.
The ration of each soldier was only 7 taels of millet, 6 taels of soft rice made of potatoes, and 4 taels of corn, 4 taels of potatoes, and half a catty of pumpkin boiled thick rice.
In addition to the staple food, our army can only rely on local vegetables to survive, but the variety is single and cannot provide sufficient protein.
Most of the cooking methods are stir-fried, barely retaining some nutrients, and some dishes are fried separately when making to avoid nutrient loss. But this is far from enough to support high-intensity operations.
After the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the economy, the food conditions of our army have been improved unprecedentedly, and the "4+4+2" meal system has been implemented.
That is, there are 4 main dishes, 4 main dishes and 2 side dishes for each meal, and there are also abundant fruits and other accompanying fruits, from coarse grains to polished rice, from wild vegetables to fresh meat, seafood, and so on.
This scientific and comprehensive food configuration is not only rich in nutrition, but also pays great attention to taste. Both the northern and southern cuisines take into account the regional tastes of the soldiers.
Braised eggplant, fish-flavored shredded pork and other home-cooked dishes satisfied the young men who were fragrant from snacks, and also made the recruits look at military life with admiration.
Special dishes such as dumplings, rice cakes, etc., are also served on holidays to give the fighters a festive atmosphere.
With the increase of national strength, our army's logistical support system has also become more and more perfect. The construction of the food management system has been steadily promoted, and the standards and procedures for procurement and use have become more and more standardized and transparent.
Over the past 70 years and more, the food of the Chinese military personnel has gone from weak to prosperous, and this is the result of the rapid increase in national strength and strength, and also shows that the mainland attaches great importance to the building of the armed forces.
No matter how the environment changes, our army has the ability to ensure the supply of food and ensure that its combat effectiveness and strategic reserve are unshakable.
Information sources:
Strait Network "South Korean Army Eats Lobster, Pasta and Sushi, Criticized for Show, Military Meal Problem is Still Grim"
Leader of the Expo: "800 Suicides in 7 Years! How Dark Is the Indian Army? Food and Livestock at the Same Level"
Observer Network "Japan Air Self-Defense Force posted a "nutritious and balanced meal", and was complained by Japanese netizens that "it is not as good as a prison meal"
Observer.com, "British soldiers complain about poor food, superiors warn that this is a slander of catering suppliers"