Food in Antarctica

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The early days of Polar Exploration were often as much of an investigation into what was required by the human body to keep it warm and well nourished in extreme circumstances as it was an investigation of the Polar environment itself.

A great deal is known today about the requirements for the most basic survival in extreme conditions in terms of what food and clothing is required. Much of this knowledge was discovered the hard way, by men suffering from cold, starvation and deficiencies of vitamins while exploring the Arctic or Antarctic.

A key lesson learned from polar exploration amongst other sources is that hunger and hypothermia are closely linked. Our bodies can only provide enough heat to keep us at our normal temperature as long as they are provided with enough food.

A Balanced Diet

A balanced diet requires all of the seven food groups required by humans in sufficient quantities, these are:

Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins - to supply energy

Vitamins, Minerals, Fiber and Water - to ensure the body runs smoothly

The main sources of energy are carbohydrates and fats, protein is required for the efficient functioning of the body, and can also be used for energy too, so it spans the two groups

A diet that is balanced depends on the individual, how big they are, how old they are, what sex they are and how much activity they engage in.

Two things were found out very early on in Antarctic exploration - that extreme cold makes people feel very hungry and hard work such as that involved in travelling by dog sledge, or especially by manhauling uses a great deal of energy. This energy had to be replaced by eating enough, unfortunately the early explorers didn't eat enough and suffered as a consequence.

 

We now know:

• Manhauling sledges uses per day           - 6500 calories  (27300 Kj)
  
  
• Travelling by dog sledge uses per day   - 5000 calories   (21000 Kj)
  
  
• Travelling by skidoo uses per day           - 3350 calories    (14070 Kj)
  
  
• Working mainly inside station buildings in Antarctica uses per day - 2750 calories (11550 Kj)
  
  

The food eaten on bases in Antarctica is very similar to the food that you will eat at home, of course, there are national differences in what is on the menu, but it is basically very similar. The biggest deficiency is in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables - i.e. there aren't any for much of the time, only when a ship comes in or an aircraft lands. This means that for much of the year the food is either frozen, dried or tinned. Modern techniques in food preservation and fortification with vitamins otherwise lost in the preservation process mean that there is no danger of suffering from a deficiency disease, but you do get to accept that food can be fairly bland and not very exciting.

The difference when some fresh vegetables arrive is incredible, you'd never believe that a humble boiled carrot or potato can be so delicious!

Some stations grow fresh vegetables on a hydroponic system where the plants grow in slowly circulating water with nutrients dissolved in it. The Antarctic treaty forbids the import of soil or similar materials to Antarctica because of the possibility of introducing non-native insects, fungi or bacteria. Despite very careful measures, sometimes an outbreak of pests or disease does occur and in this case, the hydroponic facility has to be shut down and all of the plants destroyed.

Out in the field is a different story. "The field" is basically anywhere that isn't on a base and where you have to take your own food with you and prepare it in a tent or other shelter.

First thing - you'll need more food. You're not being kept warm by the environment around you (the building) and you'll be doing more walking about and physical work than on a base.

Second thing - you need to carry this larger quantity of food with you, and it takes up space and weight.

So food for the field is designed to be high energy for low bulk and weight. This means that the food tends to be fairly high fat (which has the highest amount of energy for weight) and dehydrated. Fresh water is one thing that is plentiful in Antarctica even if it does happen to be frozen. It is more efficient to take fuel to melt snow and ice than to have "wet" food which would freeze and need to be melted anyway.

 

Sledging Rations

As used by field parties - are much more sophisticated now than they used to be. They need to be light, compact, easy and quick to prepare (to save fuel) and well packed. Modern food is also dehydrated which means that it can be more varied than in the past. Freeze-drying means that the weight is much less and modern packaging is significantly lighter than the tins that used to be used.

Sledging rations for one man day as provided for Scott's expedition to the South Pole - 1912 One man day manhauling - kilocalories			Modern sledging rations - 2012 One man day travelling by skidoo - kilocalories note the variety of the diet compared to 1912
Biscuits	1730		Biscuits	530
Pemmican	2000		Pemmican	700
Butter and cheese	450		Butter and cheese	700
Sugar	340		Sugar	200
Cocoa	70		Cocoa	0
			Meat and fish	780
			Soup	40
			Porridge	25
			Muesli	140
			Vegetables	120
			Chocolate	530
			Jam	65
			Milk	225
			Drinking chocolate	45
Total          4590 kilocalories per day			Total          3400 kilocalories per day
Proteinn	257g		Protein	102g
Fatt	210g		Fat	195g
Carbohydratee	427g		Carbohydrate	170g
1912 sledging rations food proportions			2012 sledging rations food proportions

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