This is an interesting question @maryvellantrent. There was a time, not so long ago, when fellow passagers had a greater awareness of who was around them and the courtesy to put their seats back when someone obviously needed more space to get in and out of their seat and most certainly whilst the person behind them was eating. This seems to no longer be the case and eating is almost impossible if the person in front does not retract their seat. My suggestion would be to train the staff to politely encourage greater consideration. :)