Sorry for the late reply; I’ve been negligent in reading messages for awhile.

Unlike most here, I agree with at least some of the concept. Quite some time back I said so, which stirred up a little controversy here, but then someone ported my message to another forum where it stirred up a lot more, and was pretty much shouted down. I remain unconvinced and unrepentant.

I’ve taken all food-related items out of my kits. No snares, fishhooks, lures, trapping diagrams, aluminum foil, tea bags, candy, silly little bouillon cubes, etc. etc. If the PSK is intended for short-term, from a few hours to a few days at most, I think it’s all a waste of space. You can go a month without food, I’ve personally gone 7 days with no loss of energy (quite the contrary) or other ill effects, and some benefits. I view the PSK as being a set of tools to get me OUT of a survival situation to something better, not a starter kit to play mountain man and start a life in the wilderness (not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just a different goal). Procuring food is the activity that only works well if you’re not on the move, and, for the great majority of the situations, it doesn’t seem worth it to me- even if you’re stationary, and have lots of time to waste, it seems like it’s likely to burn up more calories than it gains, unless you’re pretty practiced at it. I think the tea bags and bouillon cubes are a cheap way for kit manufacturers to cater to your psychological needs, not your “real” physical needs.

Why waste time pursuing something you’re not going to really need for weeks?

Most of the shouting was from people who insisted that food and comfort is an important part of even short-term survival. I don’t really agree, but even if I did I wouldn’t be packing teddy bears, favorite magazines or toothbrushes in a PSK. If the point of the kit is survival, then every bit of space in it can be better devoted to just staying alive, rather than trying to be comfortable doing it.

The only remotely food-related item in my kits anymore is a P38 can opener that works nicely as a striker for the firestarters as well. I’ve thought about eliminating that too, but it’s tiny, light, and flat, and while optimum short-term survival strategy might mean NOT devoting time and energy to the pursuit of food, that doesn’t mean you should ignore any resources you come across. That simple little can-opener could dramatically reduce the time needed to exploit "found" food, and seems worth it to me.