This article contrasts the standard model of consumer choice of economics with three different theoretical perspectives – biological, ecological and cultural – in the context of food choice and origin of preferences. Biological and ecological frameworks seem to be in accordance with economic theory assuming stable preferences, while cultural theories are more critical about the premises of rational choice model. It seems, however, that many aspects of the ambiguous choice settings in modern society ask for an even more critical attitude towards optimization models. This study raises a number of methodologically oriented questions concerning the nature of the premises of the choice theory: Are these premises metahistorical and universal? Can they be assessed in the light of the findings of other fields of science? Can the assumption of stable preference be seen as irrelevant regarding the phenomena studied by economics? Is this just a simplification made for the purpose of explaining certain phenomena, or perhaps only an assumption that will be replaced by a more realistic one as research advan