Before you read on, let me first say that I don't HATE MRE's or those foods that last 10-30 years. There are some things to keep in mind, though, before considering these options for your stored food options.
First of all, MRE's are self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging produced for the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available.
The above statement means that when traditional meals were available, they were not eating MRE's and in all reality, soldiers only ate MRE's when they absolutely had to, such as, being stuck in a hole for many hours or even days.
Now, per MRE meal, we're looking at about 3000 calories PER MEAL! If you're not staying active and burning off those calories or are in need of those calories, then it's going to mess up your stomach REAL BAD. You will be sick for a long while, some have said they were sick for a full 24 hours.
So, take the calorie count into serious consideration, because in a disaster situation, it's definitely not a good idea to be getting sick in any capacity.
The same concept applies to those long lasting food storage products that you see that can last 10-30 years. That sounds awesome in theory but they hold a lot of preservatives and again, if your body isn't used to it, then you'll have a very negative reaction to it.
They also aren't exactly the healthiest option for you, especially if you're bugging in and are unable to exert very much energy.
You don't need to eat a lot of calories when you're not moving around a lot, and even when you are moving around a lot, it can still have a negative affect depending on whether you're used to eating it or not.
My point is, if you decide to store MRE's or long lasting foods, DO NOT consider them your full time food source when disaster or emergencies strike. They are OK to be eaten every now and then, but not for every meal and certainly not everyday.
In your home you should be stocking canned foods, rice, pasta, bags of tuna, etc., things that still last a while, but that you're used to eating on a regular basis and that are non-perishable.
So if you do plan on eating those long lasting foods or MRE's, just try them out and mix them into your everyday meals (on occasion, of course, don't mix it in all the time, maybe like once or twice a month) so that you're getting used to them in every sense of the word.
This also applies to the long lasting dog or cat foods; if you suddenly change the diet of a dog or cat, it could make them very ill and you do not want to be dealing with a sick animal during a disaster. You can mix the long lasting food into the regular food, but then that's one extra thing for you to worry about during an already stressful situation. The best thing to do would be to keep an extra bag of their original food (or cans or whatever) stored somewhere in your home and/or put a few cups in your BOB.
So I'm not saying that you shouldn't ever eat those long lasting foods or MRE's, just be aware and be cautious. They definitely aren't the end-all and be-all answer to survival food, but they could be a good backup option when you can't hunt or fish or forage or your regular non-perishable food storage is running out or has run out.
