Scientists Cook Up High-Tech Army Grub
June 26 -- In Star Trek, the crew of the starship Enterprise could instantly acquire any meal by ordering up their preference on the food-producing "replicator." Now that was a Meal-Ready-to-Eat.
Such technology may seem like a pipe dream of the far future, but it provided inspiration for scientists developing high-tech food ideas for Army troops.
In a newly released scientific report commissioned by the Army, scientists suggest, among other ideas, that soldiers could one day carry specially engineered seeds that would sprout from the ground in a matter of days, instead of weeks.
"It wouldn't exactly work as fast as the 'replicator' and it wouldn't be gourmet food," says Robert Love, director of the study by the National Research Council's Board on Army Science and Technology, "but in a survival situation troops could grow food at an accelerated rate."
As Napoleon Bonaparte once declared, "an army travels on its stomach," and the new report aims to ensure that Army food science keeps pace with the rigorous field of biotechnology.
"We don't know exactly what developments will come or when," says Michael Ladisch, a professor of agriculture and biological engineering at Purdue University and chair of the NRC committee. "But the idea is to staff the Army with the right scientists who can recognize and take advantage of developments as they arrive."
Eat and Glow
The list of proposals reads like science fiction, but the authors say most of them could materialize by 2025.
In addition to fast-sprouting seeds, the scientists suggest soldiers could eat engineered food that would make them easily detectable to their comrades in the field. After ingesting candy bars containing special biomarkers, sensor-equipped snipers could identify friend from foe at great distances by detecting the biomarkers in the soldiers' breath or sweat.
Also on the drawing board are edible vaccines that could protect soldiers from stomach-borne diseases. Now vaccinations for diseases like dysentery must be administered by injections and over a period of time. Ladisch says scientists are already close to providing foods packed with edible vaccines.
Related Stories
ABC News Live