Who wants to go to the body farm when they die?

545 Views 11 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Samjm, Apr 11, 2006

Synchro246

Discussion Starter · Apr 11, 2006

I'm not so sure this is in the right forum (diggin in the earth and grief and loss seemed inappropriate).
Anyway- I am planning to be shipped to a body farm when I die. I really like the idea of rotting back into the earth from which I have taken my whole life. It seems selfish of me to be burned for no one to use the energy from my body or to be pumped full of chemicals to sit, useless, in a box for years.

Our culture is all hung up on the two things all people have in common- birth and death.

Anyway- any body else planning a green funeral?

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Samjm

· #2 · Apr 11, 2006

My wish for when I die is for whatever can be used to be donated to science. Anything else, I want just buried in the earth with nothing between me and the great mother.

I DO NOT want to be embalmed / preserved in any way, and I'm not too keen about being cremated. It seems like such a waste.

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beemama

· #3 · Apr 11, 2006

Whoa, tell me more... do these really exist? In the US?

A friend of mine told me her brother wants to be buried in the ground w/an acorn in his mouth & I thought that was such a great idea, but somebody mentioned that it was illegal. I was going to be cremated because I figured it would be the only way I would make it back into the earth... rotting in a casket is the last thing I want to do.

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Linda in OZ

· #4 · Apr 11, 2006

I want to be buried with a seed in my mouth too. I have told dh to just let me dissappear, as in when I croak, take me to a national park and plant me, sadly that wont happen and while I would like nothing more I think being buried on my property would cause a lot of issues later on that I don't think I should burden my family with.
Bring on the compost farms

Quote:

Originally Posted by beemama
Whoa, tell me more... do these really exist? In the US?

A friend of mine told me her brother wants to be buried in the ground w/an acorn in his mouth & I thought that was such a great idea, but somebody mentioned that it was illegal. I was going to be cremated because I figured it would be the only way I would make it back into the earth... rotting in a casket is the last thing I want to do.

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andiflipping

· #5 · Apr 11, 2006

I want to know more....

This sounds like something I would like to do...

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Synchro246

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 11, 2006

Ok let's get one thing strait- people THINK it's illegal to not be embalmed- etc, but it's not- you just have to know about how to go about it.
My sister was a big birth advocate, then a breastfeeding advocate, and while she still thinks those things need advocacy she has moved on in her live and is now advocating home funerals. You can keep a body unembalmed on dry ice for days. You can buy plain wood coffins (the funeral homes don't want you to know this) and essentially rot into the ground.
I can ask my sis for more info on actual laws.

Then there are a few companies that specialize in "green funerals" where they own a big tract of land and you pay them to rot there. They are kinda pricy and scarce.
As far as the body farm goes- the university of tenneessee anthropology department has 6 acres dedicated to watching humans rot in various conditions. They record what happens and use the information to solve crimes and in other archiological applications. I think this is the ultimate donation to science as it doesn't distance the human race from biology any further- it gets us closer.

Here's the link
http://web.utk.edu/~anthrop/FACdonation.html
from there you can print out applications and a donor card to put in your wallet.
It says that all the bones go to a "skeletal collection", but a few years ago you could have your bones boiled and given to your family or whatever if you wanted.

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andiflipping

· #7 · Apr 11, 2006

^^^Thanks for the info!!!!!!!!

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Maple Leaf Mama

· #8 · Apr 11, 2006

Being the chemical phobe that I am-I doubt a mainstream funeral will be what I end up with either. I'm afraid of fire too. So I think I'm kinda screwed!

I read about a scandinavian country (Sweden?) that freeze dries bodies, then uses high frequency waves to pulverize the body into dust. Then they are placed in a brown box and a tree is planted over them.
I freakin love that idea. Too bad it will never happen here!

ADDED:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4293992.stm

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn1351

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Bartock

· #9 · Apr 11, 2006

I have signed donor card for when I die, if some part of me can help someone else, that's lifes meaning. As for being buried, no thanks im scared of the whole rotting in the ground thing. I want to be cremated.

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Persephone

· #10 · Apr 11, 2006

I want a wood coffin, and no enbalming too.... and to die at home, not in a hospital. And I'd never heard of the seed idea, but I love it!

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Meiri

· #11 · Apr 11, 2006

I like that seed idea.

Long while back, I'd read that there are a few natural, wooded, cemetaries in the US, but not very many yet.

I figure that that would be a nice way to retire--live on several acres that only need to have some trails maintained, allowing families to bury their loved ones, either whole or ashes, where they choose. We'd have to maintain accurate maps too I think.

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Samjm

· #12 · Apr 11, 2006

Quote:

I figure that that would be a nice way to retire--live on several acres that only need to have some trails maintained, allowing families to bury their loved ones, either whole or ashes, where they choose. We'd have to maintain accurate maps too I think.

OMG! I LOVE that idea!

I'm going to speak to DH about it tonight!

Here's a GREAT article about the natural burials, and the environmental cost of cremations as well as regular burials:

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/cit...e/6953/C73/L38

And here is where you can find a natural burial site:

http://www.forestofmemories.org/cemeteries/index.htm

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