How many extra would you propose to include, and what happens when everyone in rows 1-3 wanted the non-meat option? What are they going to do with all the extra/wasted food?

If you have a dietary restriction, and knowing that you're going to be one of the last people to order, let the FA know up front. Sometimes they can accomodate the request if they know ahead of time, but it becomes much harder when everyone else had ordered.

Or bring your own food as insurance, since catering mistakes can strike on any flight.

Sorry your flight was not what you expected in terms of the meal. I will go to the lounge before and eat there just in case the meal on the flight is not what I expect or there is a delay in serving the meal. It is not a cost saving move airlines both domestic and international have always had this issue for many years in First Class and on the menu there is something that says" We apologize if your first choice of meal is not available'. Generally when I sat in the bulkhead on my AA and United First Class flights I got my first choice only once did I not get my first choice but it was an amazing Cheese Pasta Dish that was quite delicious and I enjoyed every bite of it. I usually go for the steak option!

if the flight has preordering for meals this is a great option to see what they serve, you can also request a special meal on longer domestic and most international flights. I am so sorry about the flatulence passenger that must have been gut wrenching and another reason perhaps why you did not want to eat!

If the vegetarian meal was vegetables, sauce with polenta, you didn’t miss anything. Yuck.

While I usually bring my meal anyway (hello Klein’s Deli at SFO later today) if I were vegetarian or any dietary restriction I’d ALWAYS bring my meal

Probably all those vegetarians in front of you. :)

This is actually pretty simple to solve. As a test, UA would need to over cater for a statistically significant number of flights (say 50) and then would get a distribution of customer preferences. They could use this to know how many extra to cater to satisfy a threshold, say 90 or 95% of FC passengers. Should be no wasted food BTW as they can keep in stored for the next day or next flight. It is that simple right? Someone tell me I'm not missing something here.

But to go to my original point. I purchased two FC tickets. Both reservations said dinner. I don't think it's unreasonable at all for UA to either let you pre-select, put down dietary preferences or have extra meals on board. I'm not asking for a lot. BTW for contrast my Polaris flight from EWR-LAX a few months ago was 10/10.

I'm sorry about your experience with the audacious and unmitigated flatulence... One would think this was a very solvable problem but I think its pathetic they don't have meal pre-ordering.

And, of course, this is what good airlines do.

You were offered dinner. You declined. UA is off the hook on that challenge.

Statistically, the deviation from the average in a small cabin (12-20) passengers would probably not result in much difference. You were sitting at the back - you would have been exposed to (or driven) that deviation. UA already does not cater half/half or third/third/third - it is already skewed towards preferences. On any one flight, the calculation could be spactacularly wrong (family of 6 vegetarians riding in front of a 16-pax 738, for example). If you think the calculated proportion of meals based on a large sampling would solve the problem of meal preferences of a small number of passengers, you don't know statistics. The solution is to (wastefully) double-cater (even then, there will be some who won't like either: "I want mushrooms grown only in Tibetan caves massaged by monks"). A partial solution, as you mentioned, is to slightly over-cater based on their current skew to reduce the instances of disappointment. Even then, there will be some disappointed passengers (usually) sitting in back,

As others mentioned, the best solution for those with dietary preferences is to bring acceptable food, especially if seat position lowers chances of primary choice.

Airlines generally do not "save (boarded) food for another flight" or the "next day", so yes, there would be wasteage.

This is what I suggested in my post.

The best solution for OP would be to take something onboard that they like to eat. It's what my family does whenever we're in F, which is most of the time. I even take my own soft drink now because UA has been under-catering my favorite soda for at least 8 months.

UA currently collects data from FAs for meal preferences. Every time you see* someone taking orders on the LINK (FA iPhone), that data gets sent to determine customer preferences. IME, pre-2020, they did factor in market tendencies into the amount of meals catered. Sometimes though, there's just no accounting for the family of 4 vegetarians sitting in row 1. Obviously, pre-orders will help, but I'm not sure what the status of those is at the moment, given the (self-induced) catering woes around the system.

As far as carrying extra meals... impractical at best. Hot meals are loaded directly into the ovens, as galley space is at a premium. Even if there were space available, 737s & 757s do not have chillers, and thus, no way to ensure extra food is kept fresh from day to day. Even if all planes did have chillers, that's extra weight on every flight, and extra energy costs overnight. All to prevent the minor inconvenience of not having one's first choice on a shorthaul flight. As a pickier eater, I sympathize, but I just eat in the terminal.

* - I prefer taking orders with pen & paper, and input the preferences to the LINK later in flight. But I'm a weirdo who hangs out on FT on days off, so...

I suppose this could quickly devolve into a "best ideas" thread....
But I will always remember the UA FA that stood at the front and announced "Gentlemen, if its ok with you, I will go through the cabin and take orders from the ladies first..." I thought that was great and a pretty fair way to approach it.
I book early, and get row 1 and when my wife complains (about lack of under-seat stowage) I remind her she is the one with special meals 'requirements'.
When it doesnt work, I ask for a box, and if thats not available, I point out its an airplane, not a restaurant... :)
Because of my experiences with her, whenever I am asked for my meal preference, I mostly always tell them to bring me whatever is left over. Usually gets me a little more attention when the glass runs dry. :D

I agree - the best overall meal choice you can make if you're flexible is to smile and say, "just give me whatever's left." Then leave the wine glass you brought with you on your tray table.

With my upbringing and nature I would also be happy with that approach...I am curious however as to just how it is "pretty fair"? Well mannered yes, fair...not really! :)