Eating and drinking on Antarctica may pose a challenge to those accustomed to their normal eating habits in their native countries. The truth is, you need to be eating a lot of food while on the continent. Higher elevations, steeper terrain, and cold temperatures will have you burning twice the amount of calories to keep you warm and alive.

If you are located at a base with more than about 10 people, chances are, you will have a chef that prepares breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the cafeteria. Otherwise, a lot of the food that is provided are frozen meals, dried food, or canned food. At the beginning of each season, food arrives to the continent with about a year’s supply, or more if it is the winter season.

Say you are looking to eat fresh food. Well, by the Antarctic Treaty, you are not allowed to bring soil or other materials into the continent. This is because it may allow for foreign bacteria and insects to infiltrate Antarctic wildlife and nature. If you are lucky enough to be located at a base camp with more advanced systems, they may have a hydroponic system. This system closely resembles a greenhouse, where fresh fruits and vegetables are grown with dissolved nutrients and water. However, these fresh foods may not be abundant especially if many people are looking to eat healthy.

Overall, the food on Antarctica is meant to be low weight and high energy. You will find lots of fattening foods to fuel you with lots of calories and avoid weight loss. Fresh water is always readily available on Antarctica even if it is frozen. This fresh water gets treatment and is then turned into water used for eating and drinking.