1) More nuance is fun, maybe even make catered food last longer based on ingredients to encourage the use of these items more
2) Less items taking up space on the MOO. I can't tell you how many discarded 1+ year old burritos I have spotted just lying in empty rooms taking up item space on the server.
Calling looking at some tedious is a bit silly. Ever look at your food before you eat it? The food already has a describer for how touched/untouched it is, so it really doesn't change much on the "omg I have to look at my food now???" scale.
To be clear, I'm not suggesting something goes bad over night here. Just like after a week of sitting out things should start to degrade in quality fast, then turn to fly-covered goop, then disappear entirely as items.
Would probably help with cluttering too.
(Edited by zxq at 2:42 pm on 4/9/2026)
And let's be real, we all have eaten that (insert food item) that's been around for months when it shouldn't have. A cup of joy? Let it last forever. Your smoothie though…?
I don't think this has to be a quick decay timeline and agree that could be onerous and punishing, but a reasonable amount of time seems fair.
I like the idea of degradation stages (if that's not too complex to add), it's a good reminder to RP being a gremlin if you are going to eat old food.
Hyperprocessor stomachs that let you consume moldy, rotten, or otherwise awful food without penalty. Still tastes terrible, but won't make you sick.
Otherwise? Food poisoning medication that makes you vomit, but then you are immediately cured of the 'food poisoning' disease.
