A Brief Note On Kale: Is It Even Food?

I tried some Kale "chips" today at Longos.  They were awful, as though somebody had cut up a black garbage bag, battered and then deep-fried it.  Like spinach, in other words, but with spinach's one or two nice flavor notes removed and drops of "this-taste-like-such-shit-the-hippies-will-think-its-good-for- them" juice slathered over.  And it made me wonder: is this some kind of conspiracy to fool health conscious progressives into eating garbage, or has years of talking on cell-phones caused people's tongues to mutate until they're actually able to consume and enjoy industrial waste?  I mean this crap can't really be healthy, can it?

PS.  Longos also had free pizza today, which was quite good.