If you're going to move away from things like durability, remove food as well, and drinks too I guess. No point there either. And plenty of other RP related mechanics that don't directly related to merchants, story, and combat...
Ah, but you see, if gear maintenance was anything like food, it'd actually be a good system. Effect duration aside, food is a great form of optional management.
Preparing and managing your meals(and potions, it is done the same way after all) is a task that takes some effort to perform, but it is entirely optional when you don't want to go through the effort. If you don't take the time to eat before every fight(which should really be "eat in between fights"), you don't get the benefits from that, but you can win fights without it. The system is also usable at a minimum effort: just eat whatever you have mid-combat and hope for the best.
When you choose to interact with the food system, you gain benefits. When you're forced to maintain your gear, you do it to avoid penalties.
