Natural burial, where composting of remains is OK, is becoming OK in the US. Consider the origin and transmission of ideas and culture.

【Composting of human remains is gradually becoming “OK” in the U.S.】
https://www.gizmodo.jp/2023/02/recompose-legal-human-composting-green-burials.html

・After the funeral, the remains are placed in a beehive-like structure and decomposed into a cubic yard (about 0.8 cubic meters) of compost over a period of five to seven weeks.

・Says the founder, “Environmental protection and climate change are very important to me.”

・States in the U.S. that allow human composting are Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, and Vermont, in addition to New York（New York, a large state, is now legal, which is significant.）

・Natural burial means a natural burial without the use of non-biodegradable materials such as embalming fluid, and pine boxes and cloth are used for the coffin.After a few years, the body is completely gone, leaving only the soil (except for the bones, which are done in 5-7 weeks)

・For burial, the remains are treated in a way that prevents them from decomposing. Chemicals used for embalming, materials for containers such as wood and cement, and fuel for transporting them are harmful to the environment.

・Cremation requires burning at temperatures reaching 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (Celsius) for two hours, and the fuel required to do so is an environmental hazard.

・Some people oppose natural burial for religious or systemic reasons.

These are the quotes from the article

Recycling even human remains, sustainable thinking? Thinking about the origin and transmission of ideas and cultures

A funeral in which the remains are returned to nature. Natural burial.

It is interesting that there is a concrete movement toward composting as described above.

Just recently, the world population surpassed 8 billion, and simply thinking about the graves of the current 8 billion people is going to be a challenge. So I am the one who thinks this kind of idea is possible.

I myself would like to have a natural burial where people return to nature when they die, but it is also true that some people do not like that because of their religious beliefs, etc.

To begin with, there was a time when even cremation was frowned upon. They would say, “You’re going to cruelly burn a corpse in a fire!” It was like that.

But nowadays, not so many people feel that way about cremation.

This is because the culture and idea of cremation has become more and more widespread.Incidentally, cremation in Japan is said to have spread with Buddhism about 1,400 years ago.

In this light, natural burial (composting) above could also become more widespread in the future.

It’s interesting when you start thinking about the transmission and origin of ideas and cultures.

It is a strange analogy, but for the Japanese, the concept of “love” was imported about 100 years ago, and caressing a woman’s breast was not a common practice about 400 years ago (the breast was considered to be for feeding a baby).The act of kissing is also an act that was not done in the past.

reference↓

【Did Japanese people start kissing in the Heian period? Is “chu-” from the Edo period? I looked into the history of kissing in Japan.】
https://gakumado.mynavi.jp/freshers/articles/11041

Isn’t it somewhat strange to think that all the ideas, thoughts, and cultures that we now take for granted have been handed down or have some kind of origin?

It is a strange feeling to imagine that everything we are thinking and doing at this very moment, our habits, etc., all had a grand origin.

That’s all.

I have interestingly expanded my thinking by imagining that natural burial (composting) may also be an origin in the future man.

See you then.

If we continue to bury all those who are alive and those who are born in graves, the earth will one day be filled with graves.