Minecraft wiki entry for Survival_in_an_infinite_desert, associated text: If you’re lucky enough to find a river, you might be able to tap into a new food source. Until then you must rely on rabbits or village food. Besides fishing, salmon can be acquired in buffet worlds through river biomes. They are easier to catch than rabbits and can easily be trapped in sections of rivers. Expanding river areas can allow increased salmon spawns. They’re less nutritious than rabbit but more likely spawn in groups. They also drop bonemeal, for farming seeds or flowers. However Drowned can be a real threat if they carry tridents. Besides the threat of drowned, building your home in the middle of a natural lake or river biome would be safe. It would allow you to access food easily from the water. And at night , the water would protect against creeper explosions, and if two blocks deep zombies, husks, and skeletons.