Really interesting stuff, Teg. I don't know how I feel about trying to manage that much info across spreadsheets as a Ref, but I'm happy that it seems to be working for you and your players.
Regarding food preservation, agreed that 4e could definitely use some official rules. In the meantime, I've found this supplement to be pretty handy (plus I worked with the author, Andre, on the Canon Plus supplement - he's a good dude).
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...0--Jars--Jerky