A green burial plot at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Snohomish, Wash.
SEATTLE — Leslie Christian recently added unusual language to her living will: After death, she hoped her remains would be reduced to soil and spread around to help out some flowers, or a tree. In essence, compost.
“It seems really gentle,” said Ms. Christian, 71, a financial adviser. “Comforting and natural.”
A bill before the Washington State Legislature would make this state the first in the nation — and probably the world, legal experts said — to explicitly allow human remains to be disposed of and reduced to soil through composting, or what the bill calls recomposition.
The prospect has drawn no public opponents in the state capital as yet, but it is a concept that sometimes raises eyebrows. Funeral directors say a common reaction to the idea, which has been explored and tested in recent scientific studies, is to cringe.
“There’s almost a revulsion at times, when you talk about human composting,” said Brian Flowers, the managing funeral director at Moles Farewell Tributes, a company north of Seattle that supports the bill... (continues)
Initially, I could definitely see where people are coming from with their stance against human composting. The thoughts of yourself and your loved ones intentionally decaying are obviously initially harrowing. However, once you actually get down to the process and concept of what's going on, human composting really seems like a good idea! It not only limits the emission of the cremation process, but helps give back to nature in a strictly productive manner.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing about something back when I was a kid, where, when you die, you could have your cremated remains put into a pot to nourish the soil, and a company would plant a tree that was fertilized with your remains. While it may take away from the sentimental aspect regarding my family (considering they could keep the ashes in an urn on the fireplace or something), I think that this would provide two things. One, it would allow whoever opted towards this program to die a purposeful death; knowing that you will be put to good use after you die is very appealing and reassuring to some people, and others just like the concept. Two, it would be a contribution to the betterment of our planet, as planting a tree is already a step in the right direction. Using human remains, while although it seems very grim, is in fact an effective way to sponsor such a contribution, that causes no pain to the contributor. To me, it seems like becoming an organ donor, in the sense that you sacrifice your physical body posthumously in order to help contribute to a greater whole; and to me, that sounds very appealing.
DQ:
Will/should human composting become an obligation in the future?
If we ever reach a point of necessity, should human composting be treaded similar to organ donors?
Is it ethical to charge as steep a price for someone to simply be put into the dirt?
I don’t believe there is, but is there anything ethically wrong with tasking someone else with the distribution of human remains?
I think human composting is a viable option. It may make some people's skin crawl but so does the fast that we have millions of microorganisms in our environment and on our skin. We take in all types of bacteria and have dust mites all around us all of the time. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear there is no opposition to this, as I can't logically think of a reason as to why there would be. Kevin, I do like you question about whether it is ethical to put such a steep price on this opportunity. I understand most post-mortem processes are pricey, and that is a whole other issue to raise, still not only should be allowed, I believe it should be encouraged if the environmental benefits are sound.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a while ago I listened to a podcast regarding "human farms" a farm that allows the natural decomposition of a human body to undergo different environments in order to help forensic scientist study the process. The link I will attach is the link to this Texas State Research Facility. I also think this is an alternative to post-mortem processes.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/facts/labs/farf.html
I'm extremely drawn to the prospect of having my mortal remains eventually nourishing a shade-giving tree for our descendants - a genuine "giving tree". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dr. Oliver. Ever since I read a book where a deceased character was buried underneath a tree to give nourishment to some other form of life, I have always been drawn to the idea.
ReplyDeleteI actually first heard about this stumbling over a YouTube channel run by a funeral director who actively talks about the legality of natural burial all over the world. Here is her TED Talk.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcMj4Az1MwE