Jets I don't think it's an issue perse, more like a convenient opportunity. My pop eats 1/3 of my food, which isn't too bad, but what really sucks is 40% of my pop is dedicated to food prod, plus a decent number of buildings. Reducing food consumption isn't nearly as valuable as reclaiming some of that pop and building space for other things. So reducing peasant food consumption is a simple way of slightly reducing kingdom resources focused on food.
It's only like 8% of my pop made available to go in the army or work the mills/mines/armory, so it's not a huge change. Maybe it's just enough where someone can make 1 extra attack per week.
The military still requires a heavy food supply, especially when they're out on attack, so it's still an important strategic resource that requires complex management.
