I’m honestly not sure if this would be considered a social norm for food choices, but most of my life I grew up sharing the dishes I’ve ordered.  To be more specific, growing up in an Asian family, if we went out to eat we would order a bit of everything and everyone just shares.  Most of my friends have also started doing this.  It allows everyone to try every dish without having to order it themselves and it is a great way to save a bit of money since the bill is just split between everyone.  My food choices in this scenario is really broad.  It all depends on what everyone orders and I’m not really a picky eater either.  Although this type of social norm isn’t seen around the U.S. a lot, in Asia (or any Asian place) this can be seen as quiet the norm.

Honestly speaking, the norm I mentioned above can go a long way to settling some of the societal issues we face with food.  For instance, hunger can be “filled” easier this way.  By sharing the food and ordering multiple different dishes, there won’t be the feeling of eating too little or eating too much.  Another example would be going to a restaurant and being afraid that you wouldn’t be able to finish the dish you ordered.  This is also solved by the norm I mentioned.  With the help of friends or family, you wouldn’t have to finish the dish yourself and on the plus side you can try other dishes as well.  Although this norm is great in a number of ways, I can see how it can turn some people off.  For instance, hygiene would probably be a big issue with some people.