Who do I complain to?
[email protected]
Include your Skywards number.
Meals confirmed online really ought to be reserved for the person who ordered it. The food is one of the major reasons people choose Emirates anyway. Would be understandable if it happened once, but definitely not 80% of the time.
Next time this happens, see if you can request the cabin crew for a feedback form onboard.
16 hours is a long time to go without food. Bringing your own isn't a solution - quite often it doesn't last so long, plus there might be customs issues on arrival in the US (remember that lovely form?) and perhaps more importantly, you're paying for food.
Maybe they could make a visual distinction between 'special meal' AVML trays and 'normal service' AVML trays. This way crew wouldn't mistakenly distribute those meals which have been specially ordered by a passenger with a dietary restriction (in this case, vegetarian) to someone who didn't bother choosing a meal online and just fancied eating veggies that fine day.
Edit: Assuming here that almost all travelers to/from the US have internet access.