* * *Eurasia Consult * * * Experience in the Chinese food industry since 1985 * * *
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Feeding China’s military
The Chinese armed forces include more than 2 mio people. Moreover, as the army is a regular Chinese employer, it is responsible for a major part of the livelihood of an equal number of households. This means that the Chinese armed forces, better known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is facing the burden of feeding 6-8 mio mouths. However, even when we restrict our attention to food for combatants, this group of people amount to a complete market by itself. Medicinal functionality and nutrition have always been overlapping realms in Chinese culture, including in the design of combat foods. Modern food technology now adds the availability of functional ingredients and combining these with the Chinese tradition creates and interesting challenge as well as opportunities for the suppliers of food ingredients. The Military Provision Research Institute of the General Logistics Department, that conducts this research in China, identifies the following aspects of military food that require special attention:
Digestibility The food needs to easy to digest, cure indigestion and ensure a maximum bioavailability of the nutrients.
Suppress hunger and fatigue Soldiers in combat can not always eat their meals regularly. Their food must be high in energy and release that energy slowly, to allow for long breaks between meals. One of the current research programs of the Military Provision Research Institute is the addition of soy bean oligopeptides in military food to combat fatigue.
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* * *Eurasia Consult * * * Experience in the Chinese food industry since 1985 * * * Protect against climate Soldiers need to be operative under any type of climatic conditions, from the humid heat of the tropics to severe cold, or at high altitudes with less oxygen, etc. Chinese soldiers do not need to be sent abroad to experience all these climatic extremes. China comprises virtually all of them within its national borders. Different foods need to be designed for different environments.
The photograph shows examples of military food for use in a low oxygen environment.
Protect against disease The food needs to enhance the immune system of soldiers and protect against diarrhea and perhaps even diseases like influenza.
Protect against radiation There is ongoing research into food ingredients that make people more resistant against radiation during nuclear warfare.
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* * *Eurasia Consult * * * Experience in the Chinese food industry since 1985 * * *
The photograph shows an example of existing antiradiation food produced by the Missile Unit.
The following pictures of canned military food and complete soldier’s meal tell stories of their own.
The cans are produced by the Navy plant in Qinghuangdao (Hebei). They contain traditional Chinese dishes like ‘double cooked pork’ (huiguorou). Chinese are finicky eaters and the military are no exception. Chinese are happy that modern technology reduces the time needed to spend for the preparation of meals in the kitchen or the battle field, but that food must still retain its traditional texture, color, flavor, etc. The picture of the complete meal shows some compressed biscuits packed in plastic, which look as bleak as anywhere in the world. However, there is also a nicely laid out plate with a traditional Chinese dish. The functionality of the biscuit is thus complemented with traditional flavors. Some insiders even remark that military convenience food in China is better developed that what is currently sold as ‘Chinese’ fast food, which still finds it hard to compete with multinationals like McDonalds and KFC. They therefore urge the military food industry to expand its business scope to civilians as well. Chinese military industry has always
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* * *Eurasia Consult * * * Experience in the Chinese food industry since 1985 * * * been known as technologically more advanced than average with a high concern for quality. If the military food manufacturers will pay attention to this call and start making consumer products as well, they may turn out to be tough competition of the existing industry. (collated from various sources in 2006)
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