The US will introduce vegan meals and snacks in the military in 2027, in response to requests from service members.

US Military to Roll Out Vegan MREs by 2027 Amid Rising Demand

American troops will be able to choose vegan food as part of an upcoming update to the Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs) programme, the US government has confirmed.

MREs are dehydrated field rations for soldiers in combat or in situations where cooking isn't possible. Each packaged meal contains an entrée, a side dish, snacks, a beverage powder, a utensil, and accessories like matches.

These have historically been meat-heavy, with vegetarian meals only appearing in 1986. The current menu of 24 dishes only contains four meatless options. Starting in 2027, vegetarian MREs will be replaced by vegan options instead.

US military will serve over six million vegan MREs annually

Each year, food scientists at the DEVCOM Soldier Center's Combat Feeding Division work to develop new components of the MRE menu, based on feedback from service members and food trends in the commercial sector.

The next iteration of MREs is due in 2026, and will replace several unpopular beef items and add more protein-filled snacks (like freeze-dried chocolate peanut butter bites) and caffeinated products.

Items for MRE 47, due in 2027, are already in development. According to Julie Edwards, a registered dietitian and senior technologist at the Combat Feeding Division, one request from soldiers was the inclusion of more plant-based meals.

The team has developed several plant-based snacks, including animal-shaped crackers, a protein bar, a recovery bar, and a fruit-flavoured cereal. Edwards confirmed that the four vegetarian entrées will be swapped for vegan ones when this iteration of MREs is rolled out.

According to animal rights charity Mercy for Animals, the US military issues over 37 million MREs every year, so the move could result in more than six million vegan meals served to service members annually. This will cater to the 81% of service members who say the military should provide plant-based MREs, according to a 2022 survey by the animal rights group.

And while the environmental benefit would have been higher had the vegan MREs replaced meat-based dishes instead of vegetarian ones, the change will still lower a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy alone takes up 4% of the world's emissions, and plant-based foods have a much lower climate footprint.

A sign of the prevailing demand for plant-based food in the military

The shift towards vegan MREs has been some years in the making. In July 2022, the US House of Representatives passed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, one of whose requirements was that the Defense Logistics Agency produce a report on the demand for plant-based MREs.

The report was not submitted by its September 2023 deadline, but internal discussions continued within the Department of Defense, according to Mercy for Animals.

As mentioned above, the organisation has previously conducted its own survey of over 200 active-duty troops to measure demand for vegan MREs. It found that 3.5% of service members are vegan, and 42% either didn't eat meat, were flexitarian, or were trying to decrease their intake of animal products.

Moreover, 63% felt plant-based food is more sustainable, and just over half believed it's healthier and provides more energy than meat. When asked specifically about MREs, 81% said they'd pick climate-friendly meals if given the option, and 63% would choose vegan over meat-based ready meals.

The military's provision of vegan MREs is a big deal, especially amid a climate where animal-based foods are being championed by the Trump administration and sales of plant-based food are falling. The impending rollout of these meals showcases the demand for more sustainable eating habits among soldiers.

The move builds on previous instances of plant-based options being available at specific facilities. In 2019, one vegan soldier successfully campaigned to include a plant-based main at every meal in a US Army dining facility.

And last year, Impossible Foods began working with US Army Central to serve its meat alternatives at military cafeterias in North Africa, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. Months later, Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang rolled out its Bibigo plant-based dumplings to grocery stores inside US military bases in South Korea.

Author

• Anay Mridul

Anay is our website's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma.

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