44. 45. Smith, H. R. New developments in external coatings as corrosion preventives for canned foods. Proc. of Institute of Food Technologists, pp. 26-41. 1944. Stanford Research Institute, Management Science Dept., Div. 46. Strope, W. E., Porteous, L. G., Greig, A. L., and King, E. T. A study of the specifications and costs of a standardized series of fallout shelters (review draft), U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. 1959. 473 48. 49. 50. 51. Etter, H. S., Goldbeck, R. A., Heiskell, R. H., and Sheard, J. H. Preliminary report on the shelter occupancy test of 3-17 December 1959, Research and Devel. Tech. Report USNRDL-TR-418. San Francisco, U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. May 4, 1960. 52. 53. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Climate and man, Yearbook of Agric. 1941, pp. 703-1203. Washington, D.C. 54. 55. 265, Washington, D. C. Food, Yearbook of Agric. 1959, pp. 243 Agric. Marketing Service. 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Dec. 1956. 73266 0-61--33 APPENDIX 11.-"SURVIVAL RATION PLAN", REPORT OF GOVERNOR MORRISON'S (NEBRASKA) COMMITTEE ON FOOD RATIONS FOR CIVIL DEFENSE A TENTATIVE PROPOSAL FOR AN EMERGENCY STOCKPILE PROGRAM THROUGH A SURVIVAL RATION PLAN (By Governor Morrison's Committee on Food Rations for Civil Defense, State of Nebraska) PREFACE Under a program currently being developed by the Department of Agriculture, grain reserves would be moved into strategic areas to serve as food, should a national disaster occur. This report outlines a plan to expand the emergency stockpile program to include processing the grain reserve into an emergency survival ration which could be utilized following a nuclear attack. The features of such a ration are high stability, compactness, utility, and palatability. This basic ration meets the requirements for survival under many circumstances. Such a ration (1) Could be produced by and stored in existing facilities; (2) Would be less subject to destruction and contamination; (4) Is palatable to all age groups; (5) Is easily distributed and dispersed; (6) Is readily transported and stored over a wide range of atmospheric conditions; (7) Utilizes grains which are in adequate supply; and (8) Is usable in any disaster or to combat malnutrition. INTRODUCTION Under a $70 million program being drafted by the Department of Agriculture, large amounts of wheat would be shifted, largely from Midwest locations, to 68 possible target areas along the east and west coasts. These reserves would serve as a food supply in the event of a nuclear attack. The proposed program is designed to build an emergency stockpile of 213 million bushels of wheat so each person affected by an attack could draw an average of three-fourths of a pound a day for 6 months. PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to outline the feasibility and desirability of processing the grain reserve into an emergency survival ration which in its compact form could easily be utilized by individuals in the event of a national disaster or nuclear attack. PROPOSAL An expansion of the emergency stockpile program is proposed to include processing of the grain reserves into a basic survival ration which can then be stored in the strategic areas. THE RATION A ration suitable for this purpose is described in "Food for Survival," published by Midwest Research Institute and attached to this report as appendix I. The cereal bar ration is composed of whole wheat flour, beans, milk, shortenings, sugar, and additives. It is ready to eat and produced in bitesize increments. A day's ration provides 1,500 calories and weighs under 1 pound. The cereal bar can be modified to increase the wheat content making a wheat bar, should this be desirable. Such a wheat bar could be obtained by adding wheat fractions or wheat gluten. (Also, corn gluten could be added.) The significant thing is that the cereal bar can be modified to make maximum use of materials which are now available in our grain reserves. JUSTIFICATION The proposal described herein could be implemented immediately as one phase of an overall emergency stockpile program which could include a reduced shipment of grain to the strategic areas as a second phase and maintenance of additional reserves in the production areas as a third. The following items of importance should be considered in the justification and establishment of such an emeregncy stockpile program: (1) A ration of this type would be adaptable as an emergency ration in a fallout shelter, community or private, during the critical period following an attack, as well as being suitable as a part of the emergency stockpile program. This ration could conceivably become standard equipment in all fallout shelters. (2) There is a lack of available grain storage facilities in the metropolitan areas to store sufficient grain for the emergency stockpile program. A shifting of these storage facilities from the production areas would involve a significant timelag, in addition to the economic factors concerned. (3) Grain facilities maintained in the 68 strategic areas would be subject to destruction in the event of attack. In addition, contamination of the grain would be highly probable. (4) This ration uses grains which are in adequate supply. (5) The ration is easily transported and can be stored over a wide range of atmospheric conditions. (6) A significant segment of the metropolitan population of the country lacks the knowledge and ability to prepare the wheat, in its state as a grain, into an edible and palatable food. The emergency survival rations are ready to eat. (7) In the event of an attack, it is expected that electrical and other utilities would be interrupted, the water supply contaminated, and cooking facilities limited. If such were the case, whole wheat could not easily be prepared into a palatable form, while the ration would be immediately available. (8) The emergency survival ration is closer to approaching a complete ration (which the wheat kernel by itself is not). In addition to the nutritional factor, the ration is palatable, digestible, durable, provides greater variety, and is compact where space is a critical factor. (9) The emergency survival rations could use existing storage facilities, such as warehouses, storerooms, grocery shelves, and can easily be taken into the homes, stores, offices, and other places where rations would conceivably be needed. Little if any construction would be required for this program as compared to the duplication of grain storage facilities that would be required under the emergency stockpile program. (10) In the event of an emergency, distribution is an important factor. The complete emergency ration as prepared in package form would be much simpler to distribute than grain. Packaged rations could be handled simply and rapidly, while distribution of grain would be burdensome. (11) The emergency survival rations are palatable for all age groups, while whole or cracked wheat is not. (12) This plan is another aspect of preparedness to alleviate problems that would arise following a national disaster, or a nuclear attack. IMPLEMENTATION (1) This program could be implemented immediately. Know-how to produce complete foods exists and production facilities are now available in the baking industry. In the movement of the grain, a timelag would become involved due to shipment of the grain and preparation of storage facilities. (2) The rations could be processed through the existing facilities in the baking and cracker industries with little or no additional equipment, as currently a considerable amount of plant capacity is underutilized. DISPOSAL (1) At present shelf life of the ration is considered to be 1 to 2 years. It is proposed that such rations be dated (similar to Kodak films) with an expiration date, well in advance of the actual date of deterioration. At this time the ration could be reclaimed for a new one. Reclaimed rations could be utilized for foreign aid or a food for peace program in underdeveloped countries which are largely on a cereal diet, or other welfare uses. (2) Such rations could be utilized as emergency rations during disasters such as floods, hurricanes, fire, etc., and packaging would provide protection against outside elements that would lead to deterioration. (3) Rations could be made available to welfare agencies-the Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other social agencies fighting malnutrition—as an economical and readily available means of sustenance. (4) Such rations could be utilized as livestock feed, as a final alternative to disposal, should utilization through more desirable means fail to be feasible. Additional research should be undertaken to (1) Develop new and improved rations; (2) Improve storability and lengthen shelf life of rations; and (3) Undertake an extensive cost study of this program, in view of the proposed grain storage program. Appendix I. Food for Survival PREFACE The availability of food during times of disaster or national emergency is an essential survival requirement. In times of earthquake, flood, hurricanes, and atomic attack the food supply in the devastated areas soon becomes the paramount factor in survival. Emergency rations that can be kept on hand in de centralized storage areas offer a workable and acceptable solution to meet these situations where normal distribution systems are disrupted. Necessarily, the rations will have to be stable, nutritious, palatable, and satisfying. There must be sufficient variety to meet the needs of young and old. This brochure describes the physical, chemical, and nutrition attributes of a basic survival ration developed in the food laboratories of the Midwest Research Institute. The salient features of this ration are high stability, compactness, utility, and palatability. This basic ration meets the requirements for survival under many circumstances. Its development represents the accumulative efforts of skilled personnel in the fields of food technology, nutrition, biochemistry, food processing, and packaging. A city of 3 million inhabitants under atomic attack would consume 50 million survival units during a shelter residence of 5 days. The provision of 50 million survival rations similar to the one described here would utilize the following amounts of agricultural surplus commodities: Food technologists and nutritionists at the Midwest Research Institute have produced a survival ration with the following objectives: I. Objectives 1. The components of the ration were to consist of familiar and natural foodstuffs. 2. The ration was to be stable, having a shelf-life of 1 year. 3. The food was to be of such a nature that it could be consumed with or without any preparation. 4. It was to be produced in bite-size increments. 5. Stability was to be attained without any assistance from packaging materials. 6. The components must sustain considerable handling over a wide range of atmospheric conditions without losing form. 7. A day's ration was to provide 1,500 calories and was not to exceed 1 pound in weight. 8. The volume of 1 day's ration was to be in the range of 36 to 40 cubic inches. 9. The digestibility, satiety, alimentation, and nutritional adequacy were to be as optimal as could be attained in light of the above restrictions. |