On Thu, 27 Jun 2024 17:35:23 +0100, Timothy Collinson wrote:

>I can't recall much in the way of detail on what/how Traveller crews eat
>and have generally assumed it's either 'autochef' kind of stuff or one (or
>more) of the PCs taking on Stewarding duties for the other crew.  Or a bit
>of both.  (In TTA, my group let Fred - formerly Army infantry - learn on
>the job to attain his Steward 1.  The two characters with the actual skill
>weren't interested.  I never worked out if that was the character being
>role-played or the player's own lack of interest...!)

My take on this is as follows:

Different ships will have different 'models' of feeding crew and
passengers. This is because space is _always_ at a premium, and space and
capability for feeding the souls aboard has to be balanced against primary
mission, both economically and in terms of facilities aboard.

The larger the ship, the more flexibility you have (for lesser overall
impact), so a 50kdT Brown-class cargo hauler _will_ have better kitchening
than a Beowulf, even if the Brown never feeds anyone but the crew (no
passenger capacity).

Small ships, where space will most be at a premium, will probably feed the
crew using pre-packaged meals (think military rations of the type the US
Armed Forces call "MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat)", or a civilian equivalent
such as what used to be called "TV Dinners"). The 'best' such meals will be
sold by chandleries that take the time to compose nutritionally adequate
and balanced meals; cheaper outfits will tend to be of lesser quality and
high on bulk and starches, with less care to nutritional adequacy. Most
ships will have a microwave oven or far-future equivalent to heat the
prepack meals (if those meals don't come with an automatic
"heat-upon-opening" mechanism); it might be "dual-mode" for preparation of
very limited amounts of 'bulk' ingredients for custom meals (a "dual mode
microwave oven" is something like the SHARP Carousel, which can operate as
either a convection oven for baking, roasting, or grilling, or as a
microwave for anything else) as a treat.

Ships that are specifically intended to carry paying passengers (e.g.,
liners) will have a full kitchen adequate to their crew+passenger capacity,
allowing for two seatings per meal, and adequate storage for bulk
ingredients for meals. How many meals per day will be served will depend on
the ship's "native" culture; generally, to simplify preparation, at least
one meal will be served buffet-style, and prepacks will be stocked for
passengers who choose to take a meal in their room.

Large ships not oriented toward paying passengers will tend to have full
kitchens adequate to crew capacity, and will bulk load decent quality
ingredients sufficient for at least one meal per day (with other meals
possibly being prepacks).

Large ships and ships oriented toward paying passengers will have a medic
with training in nutrition, and this medic will ensure that necessary
dietary supplements will be available (probably the equivalent of a
multi-vitamin, like present-day 1-a-Day).

>SEED: IIRC Vitamin C doesn't stay in the body long and there may be other
>things similar that a lack of can cause problems.  (Vitamin C lack probably
>wouldn't be a problem in just a week of Jump, say).  Foodstuff X is found
>just after going into Jump to have rotted (or not been delivered by
>Starport Catering(TM)).  The characters, and any passengers, have to cope
>with the lack of X's nutritional value and its effect on the body/mind.
>(Maybe a lack of caffeine giving those addicted headaches?!)

About the only way to make this idea work is something like caffeine
addiction, or posit IYTU that jumpspace travel is debilitating in some way.
The latter isn't entirely out of the question; if you've read the Chanur
books, there are physiological effect that one might characterise as
beginning-starvation (but not to the point of being dangerous; just... get
some food (broth, most likely) into you ASAP).

Most vitamin deficiencies in humans need to persist over an extended period
of time before their impact becomes evident and problematical. Some won't
develop in adults (e.g., rickets, caused by prolonged vitamin D
deficiency); those that can develop in a relatively short time (e.g.,
scurvy, can develop over a month of nil intake of vitamin C) still don't
develop into their full-blown form as quickly as a week, though initial
symptoms may present, and would be a signal to take remedial action (e.g.,
a quick visit to the starport medic when you land, start taking vitamin C
supplements, etc.).

If there _is_ anything IYTU that can develop within a week of jump (for
whatever reason), chances are that the chief steward (or whoever is filling
that role) will know about the possibility, and will ensure that there are
at least dietary supplements stocked against need. The more extreme the
symptoms are, the more likely it will be that the necessary foodstuffs or
supplements will be stocked, checked, and kept current (e.g., even if
you've got the sneerg-greens to prevent Emordny's Syndrome, you'll also
have some Llip pills in the medic's box, and after every voyage, you'll
make sure that they're not going to go past their expiration date (and will
replace them with newer stock if they're getting close).

>*Title*
>
>   - Seafarers' attitudes and chances to improve the nutrition on merchant
>   ships from the crews' and cooks' perspective.
>
>*Authors*
>
>   - Neumann, Felix Alexander
>   <https://research.ebsco.com/c/qgabbp/search/results?q=AR+%22Neumann%2C+Felix+Alexander%22&redirectFromDetailsToResultsPage=true&initiatedBy=typed-in>
>   et al

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