I suppose you're right. They could trigger the spoiling of food as soon as you enter a specific area, but that still encourages more long rests, defeating the purpose.
I enter Blighted Village and know all food I find there will go bad soon. So I know I'll want to long rest after Blighted Village to use as much food as possible before moving on.
So, it kind of forces you into doing each area you trigger. What I mean is, once I trigger Blighted Village, the food starts to spoil. But what if I skirt around and head to the bog? Now food from 2 areas are triggered as spoiling. That could mess me up for later. Best to just focus on 1 area at a time then if food spoils.
Food is a dead end, you just can't do it right to get the effect you want.
