I meant it in the sense of the right to choose something as basic as what they eat while traveling.

This is an insane overreach of the employer/employee relationship, and the only reason it is getting a pass here is because the "right" kind of politics are behind it.

>>> nowhere does an employee have a right to be reimbursed

Actually, there is. There are rules on expenses and meal. Probably not in most of the USA but the rest of the world is a thing.