If I did add something like that, and it was actually considered during development, then it would be a more general "difficulty level" setting that could affect other things, eg. energy drain, number of baddies etc, etc. It does however complicate the high score table, because I then have to take into account difficulty level. Also worth noting that I've got quite good at the game, as you might expect, and I still find myself running short on food when playing the harder quests. Like I said, it's tricky, getting the difficulty level right is so hard. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts, consider it "being pondered". :o)
If you finally decide to implement full difficulty levels, of course that would be great. But it seems like more work. What I proposed is simpler: Leave the current food respawn as "Short" and make it the default option, and then add the Medium or Long options in the menu (totally optional) for those who want a greater challenge, without needing to change anything on the leader boards. In any case, and whatever you decide, it is a real pleasure to share these thoughts with you, and that you are such a nice person :-)