Fast food chain Jack in the Box is giving away free tacos (not one, but two!) all day today if you bring an old gas receipt with you.   Free fast food! The marketing campaign is part of an effort to help consumers deal with high gas prices:

“The rising price of fuel is really putting the pinch on consumers,” said Terri Graham, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Jack in the Box Inc. “Giving away free tacos is our way of letting guests know that Jack’s got their back in these tough economic times.” - from LasVegas’ KVBC News

Gas prices are so high, even corporate America has your back.   We’re all probably guilty of taking a late night fast food run, but are these free tacos really a worthwhile effort to cut down on high gas prices?  Probably not. American’s bad diet and exercise habits are causing us to get more obese, and the extra pounds here and there are costing us about 1 billion gallons of extra gasoline a year. That’s nearly 5 billion dollars straight from consumer’s wallets, or about 10 billion Jack in the Box tacos purchased at the standard two for $0.99 rate.

An Inconvenient Truth: all that extra gas is bad for the environment, just like idling in drive-thrus waiting for free fast food. takepart today to fight global warming by learning what you can do to solve the climate crisis.   Next time you’re thinking “Don’t think about the crime, think about the nugs,” consider the environment, too!