Legalization: Fast Food's only hope?

Recent year-end annual reports from the major fast food corporations report some interesting trends. McDonalds continues it's year-over-year downward spiral, while Taco Bell increases year-over-year. Just as McDonalds is being chipped away by the rapid expansion of fast-casual chains like 5 Guys and Shake Shack, one would think the gravity of Chipotle would have a similar effect on the Bell. I think I know why it hasn't: weed.

McDonalds tries to be a blockbuster that hits every single demographic everywhere. Men, women, grannies, boys, families, singles, of any nationality on any continent. They are a marvel of consistency: a Big Mac in NYC being pretty much the same Big Mac you'll get in Japan or Spain. However, the world has changed, and their recent marketing push to proclaim their goods "real food" is surprisingly defensive, reactionary and despite their best marketing efforts, clearly a bit stodgy and insulting to anyone who has actual taken the time to consider the issues they are trying to address/circumvent. 

A fried ground nugget of anti-biotic fattened feed-lot bird is exactly that -- you don't need to assure me of the lack of "pink slime". And why don't you ask, "Has the chicken nugget ever had pink slime in it?" Or should we let the past lie? Autolyzed yeast extract is essentially MSG, so please don't gloss over the large stack of additives that make your simple meat-nugget a very designed, industrial food. Oh, so NOW you want to be all honest and straight forward, now that it's hitting you're stock's price...

Taco Bell, on the other hand, wants to be your go-to if you're the kinda person who likes to get high.

A lot of this seems to come down to an uncommon understanding of what they are as a company: Taco Bell's food is objectively crap, and they know it's objectively crap, but it's also really freaking tasty crap, and that's the tack they take with their ads. While McDonald's scrambles to show how healthy they are or how McRibs are not made of asshole meat or how their food really does decay like normal organic matter, no seriously you guys, (lines of argument which absolutely no one is buying, not even if they bring in a Mythbusters B-Teamer as a delivery vehicle), Taco Bell runs ads like this one. 

You can be the hedonistic idiot food of the young, or you can be a responsible, tasty choice that children grow on and stewards to the planet. You probably can't be both. Or in McDonalds case, you can probably be neither. With wave after wave of marijuana legalization sweeping over the United States, it's not unimaginable for corporations to start positioning their marketing to catch all those hungry, bleary-eyed stoners coming out of the shadows.

Get on that franchise bandwagon, Taco Bell!

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2626
A bumpy week, but surving a'aight.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2790

SLEPT: 8:30pm - 5am, 2-3:30pm, 10 hrs
An alright day, too cold. A case of the Mondays.

AM SNACK: 5:15 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:15pm, falafel, split pea soup, health salad, pickles, 630 cal

PM SNACK : 3:45pm, momma salad, Grazebox seeds , 300 cal

DINNER: 6pm, hake fish, asparagus, poppa salad with Italian, 600 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, kind bar, 200 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, popcorn, +/- 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, 3 small homemade chocolate cookies, +/- 150 cal
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TUESDAY COUNT: 2730

SLEPT: 9:30pm-5:30am, 8hr
Rainy bleah day.

AM SNACK: 5:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:45am,  Fage with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, Grazebox almonds, pickle  330 cal

LUNCH: 3:15pm, Stoufers French Bread pizzas, 820 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, sautéed shrimp, poppa salad with Italian, 470 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, homemade chocolate cookies, +/- 500 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2390

SLEPT: 9:30pm-6am, 8.5 hr
Mellow day, nice house guest for dinner.

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am,  Fage whole yogurt with honey, vanilla, almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, chicken meatballs, lentil curry, shiritaki noodles, momma salad, 680 cal

PM SNACK: 3pm, grazebox crackers, 100 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, sea bass, samosa and chickpeas, steamed string beans, water, chocolate, +/- 1000 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2910

SLEPT: 10:30pm-6am, 7.5hr
Not feeling well.

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 3pm, momma salad, Grazebox nuts, 300 cal

DINNER: 4:45pm, meatball hero, onion rings, salad, +/-1200 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, homemade cookies, +/- 800 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2310

SLEPT: 9pm-6am, 9 hr
Decent day.

AM SNACK: 6:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am,  fruit smoothie, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, black beans, funky cheese, +/- 500 cal

DINNER: 6pm, slice of pizza, ramen noodles, kind bar, +/- 1200 cal