Their journalist clearly flies on the wrong airline. Some have surprisingly good meals, given the constraints (although yes, in some cases the in-flight magazine would probably be better). I don't see the point on a short flight, but when you're going long-haul, it's probably easier for them to serve food because then people won't be trying to bring their own and add unknown extra weight to the aircraft, not to mention the issues of disposing of the residual food if the destination doesn't allow it to be imported.