Okay, so I've been reading peoples posts and thinking about this subject for my own needs for a while now. So here's a list I came up with.

MREs: Military field rations, designed for an active soldier. Pros: Well balanced, high calories, designed for activity, easy to prepare, decent meals, long shelf life. Cons: heavy, expensive, not great for long periods.

Dehydrated food: There are two types of this, both made by the same company. The first is backpacking food. Pouches contain an entree or dessert or breakfast item. Pros: Lightweight, relatively easy to prepare, long shelf life, tasty. Cons: expensive, need boiling water to prepare, each pouch is just a meal, no goodies, sides are extra. The second type is emergency storage food. These are stored in #10 cans, are stable for 25 years but are otherwise similar to backpacking food. Pros: extremely long life, less expensive then MREs or Backpacking food, probably as tasty as backpacking food, meals (eg spagetti) or staples (eg diced beef). Cons: um, needs external water and heating, have to buy goodies, sides, snacks seperately, unless you want to power through a can of scrambled eggs (17 2/3 cup servings to a can) before you can eat spagetti you open a lot of food you may not need for a short disaster and it has to be eaten in 2-3 weeks.

Canned goods from the store: Buy a couple extra everytime you shop. Pros: eat what you normally eat, easy to stockpile, pretty cheap, decent shelf life. Cons: can be heavy, have to be careful to get the nutrients and calories you need since things like canned vegetables have little of either, have to plan menus they aren't self contained.

Datrex/Mainstay: Life boat rations. Pros: Long shelf life, compact. Cons: basically starvation rations, fine if you're sitting tight and waiting for rescue, no where near enough food for an active survivor.

Pemmican: No experience. Eager to try the idea out. Pros?: Tasty, good shelf life, high in calories. Cons?: shelf life compared to canned or retort pouch food, possibly nutrient balance, possibly menu fatigue

Food choices depend on what you're doing and how. Bugging out on foot, dehydrated backpack food is probably best. Bugging in for the long haul, store bought food or canned dehydrated emergency food. Lost on the trail, maybe an MRE in your ruck or a bag of pemmican.

These are my conclusions, your needs or opinions may vary. Let me know what I've forgotten or overlooked.