I respectfully disagree. I certainly don't choose to upgrade to, or purchase, F based on the meal, but I understand the OP's point.

If they've cut costs so much that Ramen noodles are served in first, I'd rather that they serve no food at all and label the flight as such.

Each of us has to decide what our threshold is for expectations. If I were in the OP's position, I'd say this would fall below my expectations for domestic first - regardless of the route.