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Army food... just add urine
The US military has devised a way to ensure its troops in battle need never go hungry - with dried food that can be rehydrated using dirty water or urine. The meal comes in a pouch that filters out 99.9% of most toxins, according to New Scientist magazine. The aim is to reduce the amount of water soldiers need to carry.
"The pouch - containing chicken and rice - relies on osmosis to filter the water or urine," the New Scientist Magazine reported. The liquid passes through a membrane, thin sheets of a cellulose-based plastic with gaps just 0.5 nanometres wide. It means only clean water can reach the food, and the bacteria is left behind. But Hydration Technology Inc, in Albany, Oregon, which made the membrane, warned it is too coarse to filter out urea so soldiers should only use urine in an absolute emergency. Urea in the long term causes kidney damage.
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