Haven't found this explanation yet so I'm putting it out there: I think the reason the food is bad (on purpose) in the economy class is simple price discriminat

Haven't found this explanation yet so I'm putting it out there: I think the reason the food is bad (on purpose) in the economy class is simple price discrimination. You want people with deeper pockets to pay higher prices for the same flight. Passengers have a varying willingness to pay and the most effective way to discriminate between them is if they themselves can choose into which category (economy, business, 1st class) they belong. Narrow spaces and bad food in the economy class are simply one way to make richer passengers pay more for the same flight - I don't think the production of better tasting food would have a significant impact on airline profits.