Frankly, I think part of their bad reputation is simply the fact that they're designed for soldiers, and it's in the nature of a soldier to [censored] and complain. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

They're designed to cater to the lowest common denominator, so of course they're a compromise. The military also has rules about providing soldiers a balanced diet (it's in their best interests to make sure their soldiers are healthy, obviously) so people who were weaned on Micky Dee's Big Macs and Quarter-pounders with Cheese might find them a trifle bland <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

In short, I always found them edible (even when we could only get the American ones <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) and a huge step up from bugs and tree-bark. (Tbf, I've never eaten bugs or tree-bark, tho <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> )

I remember back in basic training, when we pathetic lily-livered misbegotten excuses for the human race (i.e. recruits) dared to complain, our sergeant riposted "You wait till you've been out on exercise for a couple of weeks, you'll eat the cardboard box they came in." <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I never got that hungry, personally, but I did notice that spending 4 hours in the rain putting up an antenna markedly improved their taste <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />