Nutraloaf, also known as meal loaf, prison loaf, disciplinary loaf, food loaf, lockup loaf, confinement loaf, seg loaf, grue or special management meal,[1] is food served in prisons in the United States, and formerly in Canada,[2] to inmates who have misbehaved, abused food, or inflicted harm upon themselves or others.[3] It is similar to meatloaf in texture but has a wider variety of ingredients. Prison loaf is usually bland, even unpleasant, but proponents argue that nutraloaf provides enough nutrition to keep prisoners healthy and helpfully can be served and eaten without utensils, which can be a liability in the hands of unruly prisoners.[4]
A wagon advertising "war bread" designed to save wheat, New York City, 1917.
In times of scarcity, whole wheat bread and non-wheat bread have been substituted for white bread, and meatloaf has been substituted for meat. This occurred to a great extent during World War I and World War II. Common substitute ingredients usually included vegetables (which could easily be grown in home gardens, unlike wheat), other grains such as rye, and food scraps.
During World War I, the United States donated some of its wheat to its allies. To prevent shortage, it asked its citizens to make bread with other grains and starches, such as corn, rice, and potato.[5]
During World War II, the UK faced food shortages when the Battle of the Atlantic disrupted the food imports it relied upon. To minimize food loss and malnutrition, the UK restricted commercial bakers to four fortified whole wheat bread recipes known as National Loaf. In contrast with white bread, which removes a substantial portion wheat grain during processing, National Loaf maximized the use of the grain, even including husk. An overwhelming majority of UK citizens disliked it, preferring white bread.[5]
Today, nutraloafs are served as a utilitarian, unappetizing meal to prisoners, allowing for basic nutrient and vitamin quotas to be met, often as a punishment. The overall legality of forced sustenance based on nutraloafs has been questioned, with some considering it to be a human rights violation.[6][5]
Preparation
There are many recipes that include a range of food, from vegetables, fruit, meat, and bread or other grains. The ingredients are blended and baked into a solid loaf. One version of the loaf is made from a mixture of ingredients that include ground beef, vegetables, beans, and bread crumbs. Other versions include mechanically separated poultry and "dairy blend".[7]
Legality
Lawsuits regarding nutraloaf have taken place in multiple US states.[8][3][9] In March 2008, prisoners brought a case before the Vermont Supreme Court, arguing that since Vermont state law does not allow food to be used as punishment, nutraloaf must be removed from the menu.[10] The Vermont Supreme Court held that the nutraloaf and water diet constitutes punishment as it was designed to be unappetizing and required a hearing prior to it being served to prisoners.[11] Other state courts in Illinois, New York, and West Virginia have upheld nutraloaf against 8th Amendment challenges over claims that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment.[9]
Nutraloaf's usage has generally been upheld in federal courts, with rulings in favor of nutraloaf's usage from the 8th and 9th Circuit courts.[9] A similar food item was mentioned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 in Hutto v. Finney while ruling that conditions in the Arkansas penal system constituted cruel and unusual punishment. Among other complaints, prisoners reported being fed "grue", described as "a substance created by mashing meat, potatoes, oleomargarine, syrup, vegetables, eggs, and seasoning into a paste and baking the mixture in a pan". The majority opinion delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens upheld an opinion from the 8th Circuit Court that the grue diet be discontinued.[12][13] In April 2010, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona won a federal judgment in favor of the constitutionality of nutraloaf.[9][14] In Gordon v. Barnett, the District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that although it was not cruel and unusual, nutraloaf is a punishment and that prisoners are entitled to a due process hearing before being subjected to it.[9]
The standards of the American Correctional Association, which accredits prisons, discourage the use of food as a disciplinary measure, but adherence to the organization's food standards is voluntary.[15][16] Denying inmates food as punishment has been found to be unconstitutional by the courts,[17] but because the loaf is generally nutritionally complete, it is sometimes justified as a "dietary adjustment" rather than a denial of proper meals.[15]
↑ Hutto v. Finney,437U.S.678, 10(U.S.1978)("A filthy, overcrowded cell and a diet of 'grue' might be tolerable for a few days and intolerably cruel for weeks or months.").
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