What Do You Eat in Antarctica? | Antarctic Extremes

If you’re a penguin or other seabird in Antarctica, there’s plenty of fish (and some seal placenta) to go around. But what do the people eat? Subscribe to Terra: Subscribe to NOVA: Generally, an adult human consumes around 1,600 to 3,000 calories daily. But in colder climates, people need to eat more: Keeping our warm-blooded bodies warm requires a lot of energy. It’s so cold in Antarctica that the average person needs to consume 3,200 to 5,000 calories a day (watch out, Michael Phelps). And because the continent is frozen, no food grows there naturally. So how do the hundreds of scientists and support personnel who visit Antarctica’s McMurdo Station each year stay fed? Throughout their one-month stay in Antarctica, hosts Caitlin Saks and Arlo Pérez discover the secret sauce of Antarctic cooking from experts at McMurdo’s galley (Hint: Need to reconstitute a meal? Just add cheese! Need to kee