Insert clip of Max Miller -ClackClack-

Explanation: In the US Civil War, the necessity of supplying literal hundreds-of-thousands of soldiers with rations at the same time meant that foodstuffs with a long shelf life - and ideally, a low cost - were preferred. If you were lucky, and in the Union, canned goods might be on the (metaphorical or literal) table. If you were unlucky on either side -and it was far more common to be unlucky - hardtack would be a big part of your diet.

Hardtack, as the name suggests, is a rather hard form of long-lasting bread, baked multiple times for longevity. It takes forever to go bad - and it’s not much more than an organic brick with some calorie content. Soldiers called them ‘worm castles’ both because of how impenetrable they were, and because insects - like worms and weevils - often infested them over the course of their long, long storage. Troops would boil hardtack in coffee, both to soften the brick enough to actually eat, and to dispose of any insectoid critters living inside.

It’s a man’s life in the Grand Army of the Union!

Well, at least it stays safe to eat, even without refrigeration or getting salted like salted pork or beef from back in the day. You win some, you lose some (taste, joy in life maybe)