Thanks to everyone for the input!
I'm not really sure that eating rabbit is better than starvation due to the mechanism involved. It amost seems to be more a case of poisoning than starvation. Assuming there is no other food source mightn't it cause more problems than it solves?
You should probably be able to live for at least 3 weeks without food, whereas rabbit starvation can start to affect you within a week. The nausea and diarreha might have a far more detrimental effect than starvation alone.
I suppose that nowadays it's a rather unlikely situation, but I'm surpised at how little research has been done into it.
So far the conclusions I've drawn from this thread are:
- It's not "bodyfat," it's a "survival buffer zone."
- Always carry chocolate bars. Dove bars are yummy.
- Chocolate bunnies are probably better than the real thing (and far easier to catch).
- Use caution when opening wine with Camillus knives -- they're getting harder to replace every day.
- That pemmican stuff sounds pretty good.