If food is not the right tool for that goal, why? Your stated reason is nonsensical - the player character is an adventurer, venturing into frontier and wilderness territories all alone - of course starvation is a possibility. The player character is going a long time without food, as you're not actually carrying fifty Food with you; as an example, resting at the inn recovers a large amount of food because you eat a hearty meal, because the food stat itself is more of a satiety stat. Same goes for sharing a meal with Urka or Trudy.
If we wanted to be strictly "realistic", then the first time you were severely injured in battle, you would die of sepsis, and even if you survived, it would be with debilitating injuries that would at best put you out of adventuring for months, and at worst end your career outright.