That's strange, given that a lot of people get out of their steady jobs because they're frustrated with how little time they have to code between meetings, random co-workers interrupting them, etc.
I guess you work in an environment where that's kept to a minimum.
I guess that'd depend on the situation and I certainly understand that feeling - I've been there before!
I presently work for http://iconfactory.com, and we try to keep meetings to a minimum as a matter of principal. Artists need flow to do their thing just as us programmers do, and the company is run by artists. I'm also remote so the only random co-worker interruptions I have are via iChat.
I'd still call that programming. Turning requirements into code is part of the job, and even if you spend all day doing nothing but listening to people spout incoherent requirements at you, you're still wearing the hat of a programmer.
Contrast that with a startup where you wear many hats at once, including spouting incomprehensible requirements yourself, and I think that's where I'd tend to agree with the parent poster.
Not all meetings are meaningful, of course, but communicating with your coworkers and customers is an essential part of the practice of producing software.
I guess you work in an environment where that's kept to a minimum.