A similar issue occurs with the Izh-18 rifle. The firing animation automatically involves loading another round into the rifle and a "phantom" round is indeed loaded into the rifle. But that "phantom" round cannot be interacted with in any way nor does it actually come from actual ammo in the player's inventory. Furthermore, when the player does load another round into the Izh-18 by either "load" or "chamber" options that phantom round is then placed somewhere in inventory where it can't be interacted with or replaced and disappears upon logging out/in.

Firstly, this isn't a bug. More options for foraging would be great and already we see that mushrooms are being added (very little nutrition in there though).

Secondly here are some reasons why the current system is useful:

1. It's tedious. Why is that good? It prevents a great deal of abuse. Berries, apples, other foragables make sense as a supplement to diet or a diet of last resort but not a primary food source. By making the process painful you're assuring that very few people are going to rely solely on berries/apples for nutrition.

2. It's always available as an option (more or less). It's very difficult (and annoying if someone tried) to remove this basic food source for fresh spawns or other desperate people. By making berry/apple picking more rational you'll also be making it easier for people to deny this food source to the people who need it most.

3. No barrier to entry. You need nothing to forage, anyone can do it but because it's tedious, very few people want to do it. This means that starving people can use it to avoid dying but people with options are unlikely to rely on it.

Absolutely I can see the point of adding more variety and diversity to foraging through introducing different foragables and effects but the system as it exists I think serves a pretty crucial role in the game environment. We should be aware of what we'd be throwing away just seeking to make foraging "more fun".