- Cause, consequences/harm, beneficiaries, framing .... what do they tell us about the problem and how to address it?
- Individual choices (consumerism, job market, Blippy!)
- Food: co-ops vs supermarkets--what's the difference (ownership, quality, packaging, corporate influence, etc.)
- Beware the corporate organic chain ....
- Education: public vs private
- Pressures on public to create efficiencies; pressures on private to create profits
- Measuring 'success' (White House initiative, 'college scorecard')--for-profit college students are 12% of total, but 50% of loan defaults (NY Times)
- Travel--cruises, hotels, airlines--can you avoid chains?
- The government -- what is the proper role?
- Regulating advertising? (World Net Daily is on it ... others promise to "do better")
- Politics (presidential debates, campaigns, and money)
- school, TV, physical activity?
- Tax high-fat foods?
- The Environment
- Natural resources and energy, the environment and McDonaldization--any connections?
- Do McDonaldized businesses and the increased consumption they encourage have environmental impacts? Such as?
- What would happen to the trend of McDonaldization if the price of oil quintuple
- Social movements ('slow food,' 'smart' growth,' sprawl busters)
- The marketplace--the advantages of large corporations and the ability to externalize costs
- size/scale--the trend toward fewer and larger corporations in most every sector of the economy (health care, defense, transportation, food, pharmaceuticals, media, finance, insurance, etc.)
- How about beyond the fast food example? Does 'the free market' work?
- Where do consumers get their information? Here, here, or here?
- Private industry--what can they do, what can be done? Will they respond to concerns about consumption?
- Education, public awareness
- Media--size, ownership, commercial business models, reliance on advertising
- the documentary (Supersize Me, Food, Inc., etc.)
- Propaganda
- Society and beyond:
- Art, music, religion, literature, therapy/self-help, etc.
- What's wrong with a trend toward McDonaldization? Who benefits and who pays a cost?
- Role of consumption
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