I think this thread is interesting, and has some good points, but a lot of the complaints have to do with when and where it’s expensive to film and what is difficult to do on a budget — or would be too hard or unsanitary for the actors. For instance, this:
Why…why… why can't the characters on TV actually eat their damned food for real instead of poking it and shifting it about like they do in every Big Bang Theory episode. Arrrgh! @vansharma
— Arun Baindur (@FenderBaindur) April 25, 2020
They can’t eat the food because many shoots often involve 10-40 takes. Also, the set-up itself can take hours. Even if you bring the food in at the last minute (a bad idea for other reasons), you still have to fiddle with lighting and other factors before the shooting can begin. And it’s usually really hot on set.
How long does the food last in those conditions, and do you really want your actors consuming thousands of calories of food during a shoot? No, you do not.
If you do even 10 takes of a long scene, that food can sit there for 5-6 hours. So you either have the choice of refreshing it (expensive and perhaps unreliable) or having your actors consume likely-spoiled food (remember, it’s very hot on set so food goes bad fast).
That’s why the food is just shuffled around the plate.