The Presentation of Food in Anime and Manga

[http://www.otakunovideo.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/1117670333913-300x225.jpg|300x225px|1117670333913]Quick thought of the day:

You can learn a lot about a culture by its relationship to food. In anime and manga, I can think of 4 major ways in which food is used:

Around the table. Rarely do we see families together except at meal times. But we do see families together for dinner. Is this really common in Japan?

Drink machines. The ubiquity of Japanese snack and soda machines is revealed in the number of times they're used for social interactions. If a boy and a girl are out walking, the boy will ask if the girl's thirsty. And grab a drink.

Snacks for small parties. When students get together for study groups--or just parties--Pocky and cookies invariably appear on a central table.

Running a restaurant. From Antique Bakery to Ristorante Paradiso to ''Yakitate!! Japan''. This seems to be a popular sub-genre, particularly within shoujo. Why is that?