On 30Jun2024 0906, Jeff Zeitlin - editor at freelancetraveller.com (via
tml list) wrote:

> 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.

Unless they've *very* cheap meals I'd expect them to have about the
right balance of starch to fat to protein. Where they'll fall down is
having lots of the wrong kinds of fat and incomplete proteins, and
they'll tend to lack some micro nutrient or another - and which they
lack will tend to be based on what world they were made on, so cheap
meals from a given world, even from different suppliers might well have
the same deficiency. Rely on cheap meals from the same source for too
long and you might end up with some kind of exciting deficiency disease.

> 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).

Once you've got a full kitchen and a cook, pre-packs will almost
certainly be more expensive than buying bulk ingredients, so they'll
only be worthwhile if using them means cutting down on kitchen staff.

I would expect ships to carry a fair number of pre-packed meals for
emergencies and in case it's not possible for the cook to work, and
probably have quite a wide variety so they can also be used when someone
has unexpected dietary requirements. They might see fairly regular use,
if only to use up old ones before they expire.

> 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).

I expect all properly trained starship medics will have had training in
nutrition and exercise programs as well. Aside from anything else, a
fair number of the spacesuit designs would be fairly intolerant of
weight changes in the user (well, technically volume changes).

--
Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>