There’s a general concept of trying to move away from gashmius and move towards ruchnius. Kosher food is not something that is inherently assur. But as we work to remove ourselves from the elements of this world, food is included in that category.
In addition saying there a taavah for food does not say it’s assur, it merely says that people have a desire to eat food, which we can clearly see is true day in and day out.