No I mean all the survivalist crap being actually meaningless for the gameplay and often kind of disconnected from the actual gameplay. There are no interwoven mechanics and most of the time it's just collecting trophies. Haven't played RDR2 though can't tell. It's just what I'm getting from all the other "open world" console games.
The "survivalist mechanics" in RDR2 aren't real survivalist mechanics, it's not a survival game, but part of the world building, setting the tone and larping opportunities.
If you don't eat, you get a slight malus on your stats, which you won't even notice. To me they fall into the same category as not allowing you to sprint while in camp. They are there to set the mood, but allow people who aren't into larping to ignore them. You can chop wood or carry hay in the camp, but you don't have to. The rewards you get for it are minuscule. You can rob people or fence coaches and horses, but the rewards are not that great and you have plenty of money (even if the store constantly revolves about the gang needing more money).
You can set up a camp in the wilderness, but you don't really ever have to (the nights are so bright, that nothing is stopping you from carrying on) - which is a design choice I dislike.