Unfortunately, yes. It only takes a few people to ruin the party for everyone else. I'm glad her company was trying to accommodate her, even though they apparently fell short of your particular standards.
To be clear, they normally fulfill those standards, and this time they didn't come close. Also, it should be noted that about 1/3 of my wife's department are vegetarians. The organizers of this year's even are going to catch heck tomorrow for how badly this was handled, this year.
I realize that you're a Vegan or Vegitarian or have other food issues that separate your preferences out from the majority of employees, and I'm sorry that you have experienced that. But what has to be remembered here is that everything is about choice. And with choices come consequences such as not having your preference honored when a decision is being made to benefit the group as a whole.
Absolutely. Did you read, though, what I wrote earlier?
Okay but there is a difference, and in the context of a company - specifically a company that sells its wares all over the world - that difference matters: Vegetarianism is, for many, a cultural/religious issue, no different from the desire to eat Kosher. It is very hard for a company to tell you, as an employee, "Be sensitive to other cultures in how you design our products and how you sell them," and then turn around and disrespect such cultural/religious distinctions within their own labor pool.
Do you see the issue I'm highlighting there? Do you see how it makes things a big different from the norm, with regard to what you're saying here?
This isn't a civil right or an action that's going to have extensive repercussions winging their ways far into the future and destroying lives, businesses and maybe even the planet.
I agree 100%
We're talking about food preferences here.
Yes, true, but I do think it is critical to distinguish between those food preferences that are preferences for preference's sake, and those that reflect ethical decisions. While on the surface, and perhaps in most cases, what you're saying would prevail, the considerations I highlighted (the desire to stage a morale-building exercise, and the imperative management projects to staff to be sensitive to such "preferences" in the conduct of their daily service to customers) may change the dynamic. At the very least, a company probably shouldn't expect people to appreciate the "gift" of a party, if the food offered is definitively disrespectful of their beliefs and values; and a company probably shouldn't expect their staff to be more sensitive to cultural values in the conduct of their service to customers than the company itself exhibits in its interactions with its employees.
However, they're surely within their rights to ignore those implications. You're right about that. And in many cases, they can do so with impunity - they're actually better off doing so. In a tough job market, like we have today, it is far more likely that employees will take their own beliefs and values and stick them in their pockets to a great extent.
And you can bet that if/when all the other employees become upset because of the loss of functions like that, the company will definitely make all employees aware of why those privileges were removed.
Only an idiot-manager would foster enmity among the employees. No reasonable person believes that the path to better productivity and quality among those working for you is to help them hate each other.
My sons are the same way (but they don't do many veggies). I love almost all vegetables and like most fruits.
I ate fish and shellfish, so if that was an option I picked that instead of the veggie option. The only time I remember not having many options was a catered in luncheon seminar. They served a Greek pasta salad that had chicken in it. I was never really picky, so I just picked the chicken out. It was actually really good. 
