The importance of eating local: slaughter and scurvy in Antarctic cuisine

► Consumption of wildlife was necessary in early Antarctic exploration.
► Expeditions ate seals and penguins for logistical reasons and for culinary variety.
► Fresh meat, lightly cooked, was important for the prevention and cure of scurvy.
► Scurvy persisted unnecessarily into early twentieth century Antarctic exploration.
► Nineteenth century theories in medical science hindered progress in understanding scurvy.