In basic training I was told this story from my Drill Sgt:
“During the Ethiopian famine..the US dropped millions of MRE’s
to the Ethiopian people...but because of the high calories,
and sodium content..their bodies went into shock at being uploaded with nutrients all in one shot, and a lot of them died shorty thereafter ...So when the US personnel on the ground would offer an MRE’s to the people in UN camps..they would reply NO,NO,No and violently wave their hands...Thus MRE’s became known as Meals refused by Ethiopians”
I think your Drill Sgt was pulling a fast one on you. We were calling them Meals rejected by Ethiopians for a long time. I’ve been on a couple humanitarian operations and they would never attempt to feed starving people MREs. They feed them this specialized porrage looking crap that gives them the nutrients they need.