Maintaining nutritional adequacy during a prolonged food crisis. [Basic foods for post-nuclear attack use]

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5968023· OSTI ID:5968023

Franz, K. B.; Kearny, C. H.

This handbook is the first to assemble nutritional information and make recommendations on the efficient use of unprocessed grains, beans, and other elemental foods during the aftermath of a nuclear war. These basic foods would constitute the main resources to combat famine after a major nuclear attack. Such an attack would reduce and probably eliminate most commercial food processing for many months. To decision makers, this handbook should prove useful on basic aspects of nutrition in a long-term survival situation. These decision makers might range from the heads of families to government officials. Recommendations for nutrition given by organizations experienced in crisis feeding are reviewed and compared. Based on the best nutritional information available, emergency dietary recommendations are made for minimum and intermediate goals. The emergency dietary recommendations are applied to food for practical survival rations. Long-term survival rations for Americans are evaluated. These rations are (1) ten single-food rations; (2) four cereal-legume rations, ratio 4:1; (3) four cereal-legume rations, ratio 8:1; and (4) four cereal-legume-dry milk rations. The 22 different survival rations are detailed and summarized in 20 tables which list their nutritional adequacies and deficiences. Expedient procedures are given by which basic foods may be processed and cooked to provide a more healthful diet than most Americans believe possible. Special attention is given to the requirements of infants, children, and pregnant or lactating women. The eleven appendixes provide a wealth of specialized information. Among these appendixes is one that summarizes new and improved expedient methods for removing radioactive fallout and other contaminants from water. Another appendix is a comprehensive account of ways to sprout seeds to produce vitamins and improve palatability. (ERB)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 5968023
• Report Number(s): ORNL-5352
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
CIVIL DEFENSE
EMERGENCY PLAN
DIET
DATA COMPILATION
FOOD
HUMAN POPULATIONS
NUTRITION
DECISION MAKING
MANUALS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
TABLES
WARFARE
DATA
DATA FORMS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EXPLOSIONS
INFORMATION
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NUMERICAL DATA
POPULATIONS
SAFETY
WEAPONS
990500* - Civilian Defense- (-1987)
553000 - Agriculture & Food Technology