So, I very much enjoy the part of minecraft where you might be having a 'hard' time getting food, or at least have to 'work' for it.
However, the sheer amount of 'magic meat' you're handed whenever voting pretty much trivializes the whole concept of growing/harvesting crops and animals. Also, steak (magic meat) is about the best food there is, and you get it for free.

I feel the vote 'foods' should be toned down a lot. Hand out less of it and/or make it a lesser kind of food, for example bread or rotten meat.

Discuss..? Cheers!

Tell us your coords so we'l raid you to makes things harder for you! :D

Just kidding.

However the magic meat thing does help with new comers. It sure did helped me alot when I just started out playing in this server.

I forgot my coords. ;)
It helps, but perhaps too much if you don't have to worry about food ever again.
The lag part didn't cross my mind yet... :o

Plus it strongly encourages people to vote. I often play on servers that are hardcore, i.e. no starter kit, no spawn portals, nothing really. This server is kind enough to grace us with end potals, nether portals, enchanting rooms, crafting and smelting rooms, elytra for votes, rtps, and villager trading posts. So meat for vote rewards isn't that big of a deal in retrospec. I myself never carry food now, and when I start to lose hunger while on an adventure I vote and get some meat. It helps both me and the server. Am I lazy? Yes. Do I like it? Both yes and no. It is convient and I use it. Does it de-value the community? Maybe, but it is just meat..... Magic meat :o but anyhow it gives staff an option to say "vote for food" when a newbie comes on spams chat with "HELP MEH I NEED FOOD" which is so annoying. I wouldn't say you get it for free. You vote for it something which is essential to a server survival. It does make growing crops and stuff less useful, save one fact. The villagers at spawn. They buy crops for emeralds which you can sell for diamonds. Some crops still have value. As far as like meat and all, yea I mean you could sell porkchops and some other foods for cheap on the market I am sure, but you won't get a large profit. If you don't plan to activily participate with the econmy you could just sell your magic meat or burn it. But in some ways I agree maybe it could stand to be tuned back to like fish or salmon. Still very good in saturation but then a new market for pork and steaks opens raising the price of meat. I like it and I just use it to my advantage. Not wasting time getting food so i can gather other materials to sell. But is Magic Meat to OP? That is the question I ask.

I think it would be reasonable to cut the amount given by 50%. It's still an incentive to vote for but it doesn't give you so much that you can collect it.

@Venetorem IMO, having food isn't a problem. it takes 1 log to make a hoe (2 planks, 2 sticks), wheat seeds are everywhere, and water isn't an endangered resource. you can have food in a matter of minutes. People only starve because they don't farm. Minecraft isn't a difficult game to not starve in, even in 'hard' mode.

I think the OP's point is the amount of magic meat we get completely removes most of the need to actually source my own food.

@Venetorem and yet somehow people still manage to starve XP
I agree that you get too much meat. i just don't think it's really that big of a problem
(posting as a player, not a mod)

Well, the people who are starving with magic meat at their disposal are completely negligent heh

@TheSpiderman2013 I don't really think the meat changes much. I mean really... how long does it take to breed a few cows and kill them?

The point is that magic meat makes it so I don't have to even source food. I don't put any thought into the food mechanic in the game, simply due to the server giving me enough on most days to not have to worry.

It being a perk is cool. It taking away the entire starvation mechanic is probably not the intention, which is what the amount of MM i get does.