McDonald's Reverses Position on Kale Mere Months After Ridiculing It

Remember back when the idea of kale on a McDonald's menu was about as likely as a beef burger on Chick-Fil-A's? When anything that could remotely be construed as "healthy" was anathema to the McDonald's way of life? Remember when McDonald's pointfully trolled the natural food movement; overtly mocked the green-juice-swigging, Lululemon-wearing culture of quinoa and kale eaters everywhere? When they released an ad campaign that quite literally stated there "will never be kale" anywhere near their burgers? Remember four months ago?

Things have certainly changed in a mere fiscal quarter. They're scuttling franchises and closing hundreds of restaurants. They were the focus of April 15 wage protests that encompassed hundreds of cities around the globe. And now, they're embracing what was previously unthinkable: kale.

According to Reuters, McDonald's announced today that they are introducing kale into their menus in select restaurants in California and Canada. In the California restaurants, it will appear in breakfast bowls made with turkey sausage or chorizo, egg or egg white, kale, and spinach. In Canadian restaurants, McDonald's will roll out three different salads that prominently feature kale.

Kale, or borecole, is popular in the "superfood" movement and touted by many as one the healthiest foods in the world. Starbucks added kale smoothies to its menu last month and even Panda Express jumped on the bandwagon when it introduced a chicken dish with kale and shiitake mushrooms.

This must be some kind of new record for a restaurant chain completely reversing their philosophy on a foodstuff. The above-mentioned ad campaign, which rolled out this past January, featured a close-up of a Big Mac with a male voice superimposed: "All vegetarians, foodies and gastronauts kindly avert your eyes. You can't get juiciness like this from soy or quinoa."

"This is not Greek yogurt," the man says, as McDonald's secret sauce oozes out over the bun. The camera then pans slowly over the lettuce in the burger as the announcer intones, "nor will that ever be kale."