As someone who has never played on the older food system I have no problems with the current system at all.

I feel like I'm skimping out on getting 3 meats early and I'm exploring Blackwood with Deer/Boar/Honey and I can still easily kite basic enemies even when close to running out of stamina.

Really the only place I'd need a full stamina bar is to run away from the Troll that's roaming outside my house, and even with that 2 meat honey setup I can tank one hit from the troll.