Food for thought

Following a recent trip to South Africa, I have been pondering on "who decides air journey meal times?" Who decides if the menu/meal choices you are working to are in sync with your departure or arrival destination - and how far apart meals should be served? And am I the only one who's plagued with these thoughts? Apparently not. Just before falling asleep with his book last night, I found a reference to just this question - meals on planes - in Daniel Mendelsohn's "The Lost" where he describes the ennui of a flight from New York to Sydney, broken only by the appearance of meals at regular intervals. Alas, though, no answers.