I've already stated that the allowances are low, that's not the argument. The argument is whether the allowances are fit for purpose. In my opinion, with the discounts offered in the hotels, they are. The clue is in the title. 'Meal Allowance'. It's not 'salary supplement allowance'.
Although for the F/O I recently did a Luanda with might thing differently. 3 this month, 3 last month. Maybe the $170 he gets for 24 hours sitting in his room eating pot noodles works for him.