The McDonaldization of Society

After reading Naomi Klein's latest opinion piece, "Geoengineering: Testing the Waters", I started thinking about the night I saw the little bandit. 

It was dark. I was headed towards the campus library. I did not expect to see him: a raccoon, crunched near a garbage-can eating remnants of a left over McDonald's meal.

courtesy of clker.com

When people saw him, they started snapping pictures. Perhaps, they intended to show the world. Look what I saw! Look what I saw! Even raccoons like Mickey D's! And that was tragic. This wild animal was familiar with our garbage, dependent on it for a meal.

The natural diet of a raccoon is berries, acorns, apples, corn, cherries and so on. But these foods are not readily available for the "suburban raccoon". Therefore, this creature resorts to foods that we leave behind. This includes high-cholesterol fatty treats. Still, this is not the most nutritious diet. Urban growth has destroyed this raccoon's natural habitat and diet. Now, our bad eating habits are influencing the look of the food chain. 

After photos were taken and the last shriek of surprise was screamed, everyone walked away. Everyone expect for him. He was still snacking for survival, but on his unsustainable diet, how long will he survive?