Food Stories_Layout 1 27/01/2014 09:33 Page 3
FOOD STORIES
WE’RE GROWING FOOD...
In the Pacific Ocean! Two scientists experience the culinary journey of a lifetime, as they grow crops during a voyage across 10,000 miles of seawater he next time you tuck into a piece of fresh fruit, spare a thought for the two intrepid British scientists who are about to undertake the journey of a lifetime as they row over 10,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The voyage will see them use up over 8,000 calories a day, sleeping for up to two hours at a time and rowing over three million oar strokes during their eight months on the world's biggest ocean. In order to survive, they will mainly live off freeze-dried food (similar to the meals astronauts eat in space), and use a desalinator to make their own drinking water. “The food we're taking has all of the water taken out to make it really light and easy to pack, and it's quite high in calories too,” says Sarah Weldon, who makes up one half of the team with Susannah Cass, a botanist at Trinity College Dublin. “The meals are a lot more interesting than they would have been a couple of years ago – we've got things like Thai green curry, chilli and rice pudding!” The aim of the journey is to raise funds for two children's charities, one of which provides nutritious food to disadvantaged children in Thailand. During the
journey, they will use a purposebuilt online platform to teach 17,000 students worldwide, live from their 23-foot boat 'Mr Toad' (named after the Wind in the Willows character). As part of their research at sea, the girls will be growing their own bean sprouts, mint and other herbs on the boat to see how they cope in such extreme conditions, then will use the plants to add a little variety and freshness to their daily diet. But growing plants at sea won't be easy. The boat may capsize and roll, and everything needs to be permanently tied down. Even the stove they use is specially designed to move with the motion of the boat, and when the weather gets too rough
they won't be able to cook at all. Prior to setting off, the girls will need to put on as much weight as they can, as the first few weeks at sea will see them battling sea sickness and living off tinned fruit until their bodies adapt to life on the water. Sarah will be missing her dog a lot, “which is possibly quite selfish! But we're most looking forward to seeing the wildlife and enjoying the remoteness. After being so busy organising the trip it will be nice to be so far away from it all!” To follow the girls' progress visit www.oceansproject.com, www.facebook.com/oceansproject, and @oceansproject, or pop along to Technopop London in March where the girls will have samples of their food available for you try for yourself.
“Growing plants at sea won't be easy. The boat may capsize and roll, so everything needs to be permanently tied down”
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