As Napoleon Bonaparte was preparing to invade Russia in 1809, one of his largest
obstacles wasn’t firepower or fortifications, but food.
His challenge to find a method to keep food fresh and transportable gave rise
to the famous dictum, “An army travels on its stomach” ‹ and to the technology
of the tin can.
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Today’s modern army is just as concerned about feeding the troops as Napoleon
was two centuries ago. But the U.S. soldiers of 2025 will be eating foods that
are a combination of hometown comfort and space-age wizardry.
“Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications,” a report released
today (Wednesday, 6/20) by the National Research Council’s Board on Army Science
and Technology, lays out a vision of foods and agricultural activities that
will keep future warriors fed, disease-free and even safe from friendly fire.
The report was prepared by a 16-member committee of university and industry
scientists. Purdue University’s Michael Ladisch, distinguished professor of
agricultural and biological engineering and distinguished professor of biomedical
engineering, chaired the NRC committee.
The committee’s report states that genetically engineered foods could play
a major role in reshaping how the U.S. Army feeds its troops.
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By GlobalData“Biotechnology and biological materials have potential to greatly improve the
logistical support of the Army,” Ladisch says. “Genetically engineered foods
have a role to play, not only through functional foods, but also through foods
that can grow quickly.”
One example mentioned in the report is the creation of plants that could grow
in days instead of weeks, foods that are already being developed for use on
space missions to Mars.
“These plants may not be used to create gourmet meals, but these could be critical
in a survival situation,” Ladisch says.
One of the most serious problems in combat is the potential for what the military
calls unintentional fratricide, and is known to the public as friendly fire
casualties: confused troops firing on their own comrades.
The NRC report recommends that soldiers’ food could contain edible compounds,
called biomarkers, that would be used to identify U.S. soldiers in combat or
in peacekeeping actions. The report states: “The presence of particular biological
organisms or attributes could be used to help identify, trace or track individuals.”
Tagging soldiers through their food could allow them to be tracked on the ground
or even via remote sensing satellites. The report notes that being able to accurately
distinguish between friendly forces and units could significantly improve the
Army’s command and control.
The report also suggests making foods more digestible by including edible enzymes.
“More efficiently digested foods would mean that more calories could be transported
to troops for the same amount of weight,” the report states.
Robert Love, director of the NRC study, says that food is a major logistics
consideration on the battlefield.
“The Army is always concerned about logistics because it translates into being
more effective in combat with fewer resources,” he says. “A lot of the advances
in biotechnology are going to have the effect of making things smaller and lighter,
and that includes the food that a soldier eats.”
Another important area of inquiry for military research is in functional foods,
which are foods that can deliver extra nutrients or other healthful ingredients.
Since antiquity, as many soldiers have died from disease as have perished in
combat. The NRC report suggests that edible vaccines, which are currently being
developed, could also be used by soldiers in the field to fend off common ailments
or diarrhea caused by intestinal viruses.
A common, serious problem for combat soldiers is dysentery, which is an irritation
of the colon that can be caused by chemicals, bacteria, protozoa or intestinal
worms. Dysentery could also be lessened through functional foods containing
specialized components, the report states.
Field rations would also contain antimicrobial factors that would reduce or
eliminate the need to send power refrigeration equipment into the field, or
could be used to fend off common diseases that soldiers might be exposed to.
The report suggests that such anti-infection agents would be made from edible
proteins or peptides instead of pharmaceuticals.
Even a soldier’s comfort would be increased by the food they eat: The report
envisions candy bars with specialized nutrients that could elevate body temperatures
in cold weather or reduce susceptibility to detection by enemy sensors.
“There is a great deal that can be done with foods through biotechnology to
enhance a soldier’s performance on the battlefield,” Love says.
The NRC report was supported by the U.S. Army. The National Research Council
provides information to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering
communities on behalf of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy
of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
Copies of the report are available from the National Academy Press for $27.75
(prepaid) plus shipping charges of $4.50 for the first copy and $.95 for each
additional copy; call (202) 334-3313 or (800) 624-6242, or order on the Internet
at http://www.nap.edu.
