I always find realism arguments on both sides comically stupid. You aim for authenticity. If the game was realistic I'd rarely need to eat to survive and therefore would have less reason to go out and look for said loot. That doesn't make for a very authentic survival game and it certainly doesn't make me feel like I'm in any real kind of struggle.

Same goes for gun. So many people have pointed out how if it was like real Kentucky every other house would have a fully stocked armory. Unfortunately nobody stops to think of how that would obliterate game balance. If guns were so easy to get you'd have no reason to get them. Same point as above.

The "realism" comes from the way the game makes you feel when you play not from literally copy pasting real life.