sims stop eating if unwanted conversation cancelled

Other sim, NPC or other household sim, begins talking with an active sim who is eating and if the conversation action is cancelled, eating sim stops eating. This is a problem when eating on public lots because whether or not the food the active sim was eating disappears, the only actions available to the remaining food will be "clean up". That means my sim or sims will have to waste time and simoleans to acquire a new plate of food and hopefully consume it before yet another NPC tries to strike up another unwanted conversation. Forget about trying to take a pair of sims out in public for a date involving food. This happens with food from food stalls in San Myshuno, food from university vendors, and grilled food from  the Willow Creek park. Stopping an unwanted conversation before it happens should not interrupt actions already in progress.

Why must it be so difficult to get out of a conversation with some pushy strangers when in real life simply ignoring them is a viable option?