>>Would a hot cup of tea or boullion broth say to the mind 'all is well'? Perhaps. The mind is a funny thing.<<

It might indeed - food usually has that effect. I would respectfully submit that telling your body or mind that "all is well" when all is certainly NOT well can be a dangerous thing. Depends on the circumstances- but complacency can kill as surely as panic.

I contend, as I have before, that hunger- NOT starvation, that doesn't happen for weeks and your body knows it- sharpens the senses and the wits, and telegraphs to your body that you are indeed in a survival situation. For someone who has never experienced hunger in their life, this can indeed lead to panic, and they can imagine all sorts of dire things are happening to them.. but then, for someone who has never been without their teddy bear, that can lead to panic as well. The rest of us can afford to leave the teddy bears and candy bars and teabags behind. We might well miss them- that's not the point. The point is that they are not needed for survival, and thus, along with a WHOLE WORLD of things we might miss, but that are not really needed for survival, I personally think they have no place in the kit.

If you've never done it, you might consider giving your digestive system the first break of it's life and just stop eating for a few days. You won't starve, and most people report more energy and greater acuity, not less. Results can be clouded by withdrawal from sugar or caffiene, but starvation is not a possibility. In fact, three days is too short for most of the benefits. At the very least, you'll at least lose the fear of merely being hungry... because there's nothing to fear.

Now, if you really fly over wilderness areas where you might have to exist on your own for weeks, instead of hours or days, that's a whole different matter. I doubt if many of us do... and I sincerely hope you have more resources than will fit in an Altoids tin.

Talking, or thinking, about "starvation" in hours is simply nonsense, and if it's "your mind" that is the problem, then the solution lies there as well- not in carrying useless stuff to cater to the delusion.

Think of the thousands of generations of your ancestors, and the lifestyles they led. How many of them, do you suppose, never went hungry in their lives? Do you think they were on the verge of panic, of losing all sense and reason, if they missed a meal or two? If they had been, you wouldn't be here.

I wouldn't dream of dictating what anyone else includes in their kit, but I have no plans to put tea bags, candy, bouillon cubes, chocolate cookies or gummy bears in my kits anytime soon. "Comfort food" is just that- as comforting as it may be to have it in a kit, it's simply not needed for short-term survival, and inadequate for anything longer.