Horses for courses..... (pun intended)
Sure you blokes and blokesses in GA fully deserve those hot crew meals. I agree fully. Aeromed.. yeah been there and done that.. decent nosh was fairly important to get though that 14-16 hour day.
However it's your bosses in GA that are the problem. Just because there hasn't been a incident/accident related to food safety yet, doesn't mean it's a problem. The absence of a accident does not indicate the relative safety of the operation.
If $40-50s a crew for a crew meal on a operation is going to break the bank, should the operation be going in the first place?
RPT wise, yes, crew meals aren't just a safety measure, it's also a OTP measure. Can't have the crew missing OTP because they were out getting Subway. It's called, being proactive... more so about OTP sometimes! And exactly how the hell are you mean to self cater on a 4 day trip with minimum 10 hour rests in between, often in hotels that are located no where near supermarkets etc. Can you guarantee HACCP standards for your food?
HACCP procedures do make the food safety standard much higher than BYO or Subway. Ask NZ "Aviation Expert" Peter Clark all about that one... and the store bought chicken sandwich that caused the problem in the first place.
Like it or not.. we're human and we have to eat. It's not a economic inconvenience, its a basic human need, that needs to be fulfilled if we are to do our jobs safely...