A new ban on food photography has been enacted in some of America’s big food cities, most notably, New York, that aims to make the dining experience more enjoyable for all diners-rather than just those with an iPhone and an instagram account.

Chefs, owners and restaurateurs are laying down the law on food photography, claiming that the flashes, posing of plates and in some extreme cases, tripod-positioning, can be distracting to other diners.

Here is the only reason why I could be pro-ban: if you’re the type of foodstagrammer who takes obnoxious flash photos of your food, your pictures are already terrible and no one wants to see them anyways.

Where I take issue with the ban is for those undercover photographers, like myself, who enjoys snapping little keepsakes for memories and envy-inducing purposes.

Food is good, I love food. You know what I like almost as much as food?  Making my friends jealous.  Robbing me of the opportunity to rub in my friends’ faces that when they were eating ramen, I was eating hama chili is almost as bad as robbing me of the hama chili all together.

While I completely understand the idea of the ban on deplorable levels of food photography, those imposing it are ignoring the unbelievable role image sharing plays in growing a business.  Social sharing is key in the taste-making game, and without it, you’re no more exciting to diners than every other 5-star yelp-rated restaurant in the city.

If this ban picks up in Austin, which I doubt it will, I have to wonder… if the masses can’t instagram it, will they eat it in the first place?