not to mention security requirements ... the more paranoid they make people about what they can bring, the less likely they are to attempt to bring food or drink in themselves and end up resigning yourself to buying it in the terminal.

There seems to be a deliberate fog of war around travel requirements. The specifics of the rules are different everywhere (take my shoes off? belt off? laptop in my bag or out of my bag? ...). Which is slightly annoying in itself but what is really annoying is the lack of explanation of what those specific requirements are at any one airport. Which means inevitably being yelled at by security staff, feeling stupid, setting off scanners accidentally etc. It's all very unpleasant.