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RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2015 www.PosterPresentations.com An average of 55.3 million people die each year, 2.3 million of those in the US alone (Banks, 2010). With a continually aging baby boomer population, those rates are predicted to increase over the coming years (Banks, 2010). There are several factors that come into play when it comes to the death care industry, such as finances, environmental impact, cultural norms and personal preferences. Eco-friendly alternatives to ‘traditional’ burial methods are steadily on the rise (Coutts et al., 2018). These methods provide cheaper options that take a significantly lighter toll on the environment, and can even positively affect the planet. These methods also tend to be more personal and nurture America’s damaged relationship with death, another cultural issue that separates the nation from the rest of the western world (Hannig, 2017).The American funeral industry can help the environment, reduce astronomical costs for families, and being to mend America’s relationship with death by switching over to practicing alternative burial methods, specifically natural burial. Introduction and Thesis Financial Aspects of American Funeral Industry • cemeteries are not environmentally sustainable. They rely on single-use land, significant resource consumption, and leech toxic by-products into the land (Coutts et al., 2018). • Each year, Americans bury approximately 73,000 km of wood, 58,500 metric tons of steel, 1.5 million metric tons of concrete, and 16.3 million liters of embalming fluid (Coutts et al., 2018). That is enough casket wood to build 4.5 million homes and enough embalming fluid to fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools every year (Calderone, 2015). Lawn park cemeteries currently take up about 1 million acres of land (Calderone, 2015). • Typical maintenance requires plenty of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep the lawns looking pristine. These chemicals seep back into local water supplies and harm wildlife • Embalming fluid is made of a chemical mix of formaldehyde, phenol, methanol, and glycerin (Calderone, 2015). • The chemicals in the fluid are known by the CDC to be potential human carcinogens, yet they are still used in almost every funeral home (Calderone, 2015). • embalming is not required by federal law, and it is perfectly legal to bury an unembalmed body (Corley, 2007). • It is the funeral industry that has perpetuated the myth that embalming is practiced to prevent the spread of disease, but this has been proven false by the Green Burial Council (Corley, 2007). According to the GBC, "there is no evidence suggesting that embalming provides any public health benefits” (Corley, 2007). Environmental Aspects of American Funeral Industry • Natural burial is defined as “burial of an unembalmed body in a biodegradable casket or shroud with no vault” (Coutts et al., 2018) • three main categories of natural burial cemeteries • Conservation burial grounds only allow naturally buried bodies and their methodology focuses on commitment to ecological conservation (Coutts et al., 2018). They do this by using burials to restore landscapes, enhance plant and wildlife growth, and preserve land (Coutts et al., 2018). • A conservation burial ground has a unique power - once bodies are buried there, the land cannot be developed on (Doughty, 2017) • family and friends can come and plant their loved ones favorite flowers and plants over their grave site and are comforted by the idea of their loved one helping nourish the greenery (Vatomsky, 2018). • even a more expensive green burial would rarely cost over $5,000 - half the price of the average traditional funeral! • For every person that forgoes traditional embalming and casket burial, resources are being saved. • The body is also not being buried with embalming fluids, so the toxic chemicals that would normally be pumped into the body are not entering the earth during decomposition • Since there is no burning either, the fumes are not being released into the air. • Conservation burial parks offer the greatest potential for permanently conserving larger landscapes and protecting natural wildlife (Coutts et al., 2018). • When surveyed, 82% of American participants responded that the opening of more natural burial and conservation burial grounds would be a good idea (Coutts et al., 2018). Natural Burial’s Benefits Conclusion It is a fact that every human being will one day die - that is something no one has control over. What they do have control over is how they would like their body to be disposed of. For many Americans, embalmed burial or cremation is the only method they will ever consider. However, a growing population of Americans are turning to alternative methods for both environmental and financial reasons. The environmental benefits of the various options mentioned previously are undeniable, and will likely make more financial sense to many. In order for future generations to accept these greener methods, opening up the conversation about death is essential. Death must be taught as a natural part of life from a young age. Although it can be frightening at first, allowing people to explore their relationship with death will make it easier to feel comfortable prearranging. By thinking critically about the various interment options and openly exploring this topic, Americans will be a better informed and better equipped population. It is obvious that the current funeral industry is broken. It does not meet the financial needs of most Americans and its wreaking havoc on a dying planet. It is time that the United States open their eyes to this issue and make bold strides in getting back to a simpler, humbler death. References American Funeral Customs and Traditions – Funeral.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2019, from https://funeral.com/blog/american-funeral-customs-and-traditions/ Banks, D. A. (1998). The economics of death? A descriptive study of the impact of funeral and cremation costs on U.S. households. Death Studies, 22(3), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/074811898201597 Bromwich, J. E. (2018, August 7). An Alternative to Burial and Cremation Gains Popularity. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/business/flameless-cremation.html Calderone, J. (2015). Burying dead bodies takes a surprising toll on the environment - Business Insider. Retrieved March 19, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/burying-dead-bodies-environment-funeral-conservation -2015-10#eco-friendly-alternatives-do-exist-6 Corley, C. (2007) Burials and Cemeteries Go Green. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from NPR.org website: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17232879 Coutts, C., Basmajian, C., Sehee, J., Kelty, S., & Williams, P. C. (2018). Natural burial as a land conservation tool in the US. Landscape and Urban Planning, 178, 130–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.05.022 Doughty, C. (n.d.). A burial practice that nourishes the planet. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/caitlin_doughty_a_burial_practice_that_nourishes_the_planet ? language=en Eternal Reefs » Living legacies that memorialize our loved ones. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2019, from Eternal Reefs website: https://www.eternalreefs.com/ Erizanu, P. (2018). Organic burial pod turns your body into a tree. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from CNN website: https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html Hannig, A. (2017). There’s Something We Need to Talk About: Death and Dying in the USA. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2019, from Undark website: https://undark.org/article/death-dying-america-anthropologist/ Hauptmann, M., Stewart, P. A., Lubin, J. H., Beane Freeman, L. E., Hornung, R. W., Herrick, R. F., … Hayes, R. B. (2009). Mortality From Lymphohematopoietic Malignancies and Brain Cancer Among Embalmers Exposed to Formaldehyde. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 101(24), 1696–1708. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djp416 National Funeral Directors Association. (2019) Statistics. Retrieved March 19, 2019, from http://www.nfda.org/news/statistics Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2019, from Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery website: https://www.prairiecreekconservationcemetery.org/ Statista. (2018) Death services: revenue of funeral homes U.S. 2018 | Retrieved April 1, 2019, from Statista website: https://www.statista.com/statistics/883227/revenue-of-funeral-homes-in-the-us/ Vatomsky, S. (2018, June 8). Thinking About Having a ‘Green’ Funeral? Here’s What to Know. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/smarter-living/green-funeral-burial-environment.ht ml Walsh, B. (2017). How Lincoln’s Embrace Of Embalming Birthed The American Funeral Industry. (2017, November 2). International Business Times (U.S. Ed.). Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Flink.galegroup.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FA517572683%2FAONE%3F u%3D24034%26sid%3DAONE%26xid%3D267839b9 Contact for Further Information Grace Falvey: [email protected] • The average funeral home handles a reported 113 calls per year and employees 3 full-time and 4 part-time employees (NFDA, 2019) • The funeral industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, raking in an average of $17 billion each year, and funeral costs increase an average of 1.6% a year (Banks, 2010) • One of the biggest problems surrounding funeral costs is the manipulative nature of the principle-agent relationship. • The funeral industry’s economic model is based on the concepts of protection, sanitation, and beautification of each corpse (Doughty, 2017). • In America, the average death is more expensive than the average illness (Banks, 2010). • a funeral can cost a family well over $10,000. • The lower income a family is, the higher a financial impact a death is (Banks, 2010). • The average US household can expect to spend at least 8% of annual income on the least costly death service (Banks, 2010). • This is even higher for minority families, with Hispanic and African American households estimated to spend 19-32% on traditional burial and 8-13% on cremation (Banks, 2010). Sacred Heart University College of Health Professions Grace Falvey Six Feet Under: An Environmental, Financial, and Cultural Examination of Death and Disposal in Modern America Cremation: Not the Best Answer • it is not a perfect alternative and poses its own unique environmental issues. Many cremation services take place after an embalmed viewing, so the body is still being filled with the dangerous embalming chemicals (Coutts et al., 2018). • Instead of those chemicals seeping into the ground after burial, the fumes are released into the air during the burning process • Each cremation uses the natural gas equivalent of a 500-mile car trip in addition to giving off toxic gases (Doughty, 2017). • cremated ashes form a thick chalky layer in the ground and are sterilized through the burning process, meaning they have no nutrients present (Doughty, 2017). • While cremation helps solve the problem of limited burial space, it is not the end all be all to responsible disposal. Culture of Death in US & Legislation • It was not until Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 that the public took notice of embalming. His body was embalmed so it could be viewed on a funeral train back to his hometown in Illinois (Walsh, 2017). • Embalming became a national sensation, making its way from the highest-classes down until it is the commonplace practice known today (Walsh, 2017). • It is a common misconception that bodies must be embalmed in order to be buried in America, and families are often unaware they can request to forgo the embalming process at any funeral home. • It is only in Western cultures that death has become over- medicalized and is seen as an enemy to be defeated (Hannig, 2017). • Body disposition control generally falls to individual states, which is where most of the problems come in. Each state varies on how bodies can be legally disposed of, and it can get confusing when trying to plan one’s own disposition. • Since these laws are left up to the states, grassroots advocacy becomes the main proponent of the green burial movement. 1 Falvey: Six Feet Under: An Environmental, Financial, and Cultural Examina Published by DigitalCommons@SHU, 2019
