The main theme of "The Toxic Donut" is concern for the destruction of earth's environment. While the story takes place in the future, after humanity has devised a solution for environmental destruction, Ron, the administrative assistant, talks about humanity's past—in other words, the time in which Bisson and his readers live: "I mean it all really happened! Dead rivers, dead birds, dioxins." In Ron's time, environmentalism is a worldwide concern, so much so that there is an "International Institute of Environmental Sciences."