Isn't the new rule effectively the same thing? If I'm understanding what you've written correctly, if a paying passenger asks for steak, and a non-rev already asked for steak, the FA is supposed to give steak to the paying passenger and ask the non-rev to choose something else. Under this new process, just like the old rule when they wouldn't ask the non-revs until the paying passengers had chosen, the FA is not supposed to give steak to a non-rev when a paying passenger wants one.

("Paying" includes upgrades and FF mile awards, by the way.)