One flaw in the food question is the amount of food you need. Going to some restaurant and getting a 2000+ calorie meal is misleading. People can get by on much less a day. We are conditioned to thinking we need X amount a day when in reality you could eat much less and still be healthy. Our forefathers did. There is a difference between hunger and starving, I venture most Americans (even most EBT’er) have ever been starving, as backed-up by how many fat arses we have in this country.
A loaf of bread, two tomatoes, a couple of potatoes, an onion and a small quantity of meat would last me a week.
Pioneers of this country got by on a small biscuit in the morning a couple pieces of jerky mid-day, and a rabbit or squirrel size meal in the evening with an occasional piece of fruit.
Oh, agreed with the excess food.
And for those that manage not to starve completely to death the benefit will be cured t2d, and a lot of the medical issues associated with obesity.
However, diseases of malnutrition we’ve not seen for a hundred years will return. Notably those relating to lack of complete proteins and B vitamins. Along with good old scurvy.
I know when I did the mountain man thing for over a year, I consumed about 3 times the calories I do normally, especially in the winter.
Hauling water, chopping wood, and generally working from before dawn until after dark requires a LOT of calories.
My historical research into shopping lists and military ration allowances from the late 1800s confirms that.
/johnny