Due to a medical condition, Roger Ebert doesn't eat or drink anymore. He doesn't miss tasting food or drink, only the more social aspects of dining.
What I miss is the society. Lunch and dinner are the two occasions when we most easily meet with friends and family. They're the first way we experience places far from home. Where we sit to regard the passing parade. How we learn indirectly of other cultures. When we feel good together. Meals are when we get a lot of our talking done -- probably most of our recreational talking. That's what I miss.
As Ben Trott says, the last paragraph is the killer.
