Anthony, sorry to take issue on this, but. Proper food most definitely does not have to be hot from a nutritional point of view, and just how is a third rate contract meal fat and sugar controlled?
There is no reason why the airline environment prevents one from obtaining one's own food, all it takes is a little planning. There has been a lot of crap talked about hygiene issues too. You dont poison yourself at home, so why should you do it at work?
Two hundred and fifty pilots at Go have operated for years eating their own food, happily, safely and far more cheaply than the near £2000 per year cost (to a Go pilot) of this EJ swindle. Virtually none of the Go pilots want food provided if it costs them money, those who voted yes were duped by the company who cynically neglected to mention in advance that the provision of food came at a financial cost. That is the sort of behaviour that lands retailers or service providers in court, its called "fraud" in the commercial world. Why is it permitted in employment?
The fact is that EJ saw that food was clearly not necessary as Go had proved it to them, and that is very hard to argue against.