I'm not intending to be goady (although getting a bit tired of the shopping basket police) and clearly we shouldn't be popping to the shops every five minutes for a packet of crisps, but who gets to decide what counts as essential? Even with something like tea and coffee you could argue that it's perfectly possible to drink water instead (personally I don't drink either).
Fresh fruit and veg are important, but no individual fruit or vegetable is in itself essential - and you wouldn't die if you didn't eat any at all for a couple of weeks. You can manage without milk - you don't have to have cereal for breakfast, or drink tea of coffee (see above). You clearly don't need meat or fish - vegetarians manage without them all the time. By the same token, you don't need cheese or yoghurt or eggs - vegans don't eat them. You don't need loo roll - use a bidet or flannel. Etc., etc.
So all we can really conclude is that we need some sort of comestibles as fuel, but no one item in and of itself can be seen as essential.
Or AIBU?