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Food in Antarctica
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.
Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins - to
supply energy 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.
We now know:
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 mean that there is no danger of suffering from a deficiency disease, but you do get to accept that food is fairly bland and not very exciting.
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.
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.
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.
Water is obtained by melting snow and ice over a paraffin filled primus stove, the most dependable and robust system. Note how the modern rations are much more varied. They are also lighter per kilocalorie at 7.3 kilocalories per gram as opposed to 5.1 kilocalories per gram for the 1912 rations, this is largely due to the modern food being efficiently dehydrated by freeze drying techniques. |
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A
balanced diet requires all of the seven food groups required by humans in
sufficient quantities, these are:
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. 
The difference when some fresh vegetables arrive is
incredible, you'd never believe that a humble boiled carrot or potato can be so
delicious!
Embarrassing
tale of Antarctic nosh:
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