Recomposing Modern Burial Practices

At the end of our last discussion, I posed the question: How can our new funerary traditions and celebrations become sources of happiness, inspiration and ecological responsibility?

There have been many new remains disposal options popping up, and I’m really digging this one: Recompose.

^{“Become soil when you die
Death is profound, momentous, and beyond our understanding.
With an approach that is as practical as it is meaningful,
Recompose connects the end of life to the natural world.”} –Recompose.life

Those words greet you on the Seattle-based company’s website, giving a brief but pungent summary of the service they offer and why. Recompose is a modern funerary option that was developed out of both personal desire and societal need. Rather than become a chemical hazard that leaks into the soil over time, you can now become the soil itself and provide a rich, nutritious foundation for foliage to grow.

I appreciate the clever naming, changing decomposition – the process of wasting away – into REcomposition, which sounds much more positive and hopeful. It truly is. With this process, your physical body is given a new form, not only reducing the amount of harm that traditional burials and cremations cause to the planet, but also giving back to it and being a part of its future. Recompose allows you to live on in a different way.

Its Precompose package allows you to pre-pay for your care after death. By pre-paying, you can assure your chosen arrangements are all set while ensuring the future of the Recompose practice.

This method of disposal is perfect for those who wish to take action against the destruction of our earth. Once your body is composted, there is the option to donate the soil to the 700 acres of Bells Mountain conservation forest. Or, for an additional cost, a recipient can be named and Recompose will ship the full yard of soil produced to that person. Then, the recipient can use the soil in their home garden or spread it in a place of your choosing.

For $5,500, you receive this service along with what they call the laying-in ceremony, transport to the facility within a certain local radius, as well as the death certificate. They do accept out-of-state bodies, but transportation is not included in those cases. Currently, their appropriately-named Greenhouse facility has a 10-body capacity per month. If any bodies come in while at capacity, they use cold storage to keep them fresh.

This price is already more affordable than the standard funeral, but if you feel that amount is hefty, they even offer monthly payment options so you can pay off the balance over time before the big event. You can also buy it as a gift for others, and it is still 90% refundable after 30 days of purchase.

The laying-in ceremony is simply the process of putting a person’s body into a specially designed vessel along with plant material and microbes which help to transform the person into soil. You can customize this ceremony like any funeral depending on your faith and preferences, with prayer, music, etc.

How does the environmental impact of this process stack up against traditional burial?

Firstly, it reduces the human carbon footprint by one metric ton every time a human is composted rather than buried or cremated. According to its website, Recompose uses 1/8 of the energy of those traditional methods.

It also removes the need for embalming fluid. As we talked about before, those chemicals are very harmful to the funerary workers, the environment, wildlife and potentially the water table. Think about how much healthier the earth could be if we all chose a less toxic, or in this case non-toxic, alternative.

Not only does Recompose reduce toxic contamination, but it also goes a step further to produce healthy soil, which is essential to the survival and thriving of the entire world including temperature regulation.

Rather than wasting the resources we have left at death with cremation or burial, you can utilize those resources and take action and ecological responsibility, even in death.

For more information, visit Recompose.life or email info@recompose.life.

The Environmental Impacts of Death

Go Green! We hear this all the time. Now more than a trend and as a response to an ever-growing need to be eco-conscious, the green movement has become a centerpiece of discussion in our society in everyday life. 

But what about in death?  How green are our current burial practices? 

If you’re lucky like myself, you don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with death (knock on wood!) So, if you’re like me, the first thing we need to do to answer this question is to look at what all actually goes into the burial process.

There are many choices on how to dispose of remains that all come with their own set of ecological impacts, but for our purposes, we are going to focus on burial specifically. 

First, there is the embalming process. The body is disinfected. The extremities are massaged to loosen them up. The eyelids are secured shut either using glue or plastic inserts. The lower jaw is set using either wires or sewing. 

After the positioning of the corpse, the blood is then removed from the veins and replaced with embalming fluid, a potent chemical solution. All of the internal organs are punctured in order to release any gas or liquid. They are also injected with the embalming solution.

Once the chemicals are in place, the face of the corpse is then made more acceptable for viewing using makeup. The body will be dressed in clothing and accessories as chosen by the family. The body is placed in a casket, which can be made of metal, wood or fiberglass. This ends the process before the funeral service.

Regardless of personal experience, we are a little more familiar with this part. The family stands around crying. The priest is praying, maybe. The casket is lowered down into a hole in the ground. Later, a headstone will be placed to mark the burial. Everyone disperses to drink wine, eat cheese, and leave the grieving family with many casseroles that taste like sadness. 

What is in embalming fluid that is so toxic? 

Formaldehyde. Phenol. Methanol. Glycerin. All of which are either carcinogens or will irritate or burn you if it comes in contact with your eyes, nose, throat, skin or lungs. 

The workers who prepare the bodies are exposed to these harmful chemicals first, and then it gets into our soil. Almost 3 million people died in 2019. Thankfully, they didn’t all choose burial as their disposal method. However, it is still estimated that more than 800,000 gallons of those chemicals are released into the earth each year due to our burial practices. 

Then, we have the plastic fibers in clothing and accessories we dress the dead in and other trinkets we might throw along with them. They don’t need these belongings, but nevertheless, we litter the planet with more plastic.  

At first glance, the caskets don’t seem like a big deal, right? Wrong. The wood caskets used every year are made from millions of acres of trees. We could use this wood for more important tasks, like building homes. Or, hey, we could not cut down the trees at all and keep our ecosystems in tact and our air clean.

Let’s go deeper now into maintenance. It isn’t enough to preserve our loved ones and say goodbye. We keep going back to see them. And since some people choose to revisit their buried friend or family member anywhere from every couple of hours to every day to once a week or once a year, it creates a need for a well-maintained yard containing the bodies. 

Gallons of water and more chemicals are needed for this upkeep. Again, the chemicals used for landscaping are usually toxic and can harm our water supply and wildlife. Not to mention all the land space that’s taken up just filled with dead bodies. What better ways can you think of to use the 1 million acres at least of cemetery lands? 

We know plastic is a problem. We know deforestation is an issue. We know protecting our planet, wildlife and water supply is more important than ever. Not just in the United States, but all over the world. 

When it comes to the dead, our convictions should not be tossed aside or ignored just because this is the traditional way. Like many old traditions, it will take some time to phase out the norm. We need to find new ways to honor them while keeping in mind the facts we know now. We need to be mindful of our impact on the planet. 

And if going green isn’t really your thing, think about this: The average funeral costs almost $7500. And the funeral industry is not shy about trying to get you to upgrade or purchase add-ons. Like every other material industry, we are pressured and feel the need to keep up with the Joneses. We need the best casket and the best outfit and the best headstone for the best spot in the cemetery. I don’t know about you, but if I needed to respect the wishes of a relative tomorrow, I simply wouldn’t be able to afford it. 

I think it is important to honor and respect our relatives and dear friends, remember and memorialize them. We should do it in a way that doesn’t cause a family to go into debt, another struggle to add to losing someone dear. 

How can we start to change our ideas surrounding death and burial?

It starts with conversations and awareness. It is amazing that in 2021, talking about death is still considered taboo or impolite conversation. It is my opinion that if we can have more honest conversations about death, we could have a more unified understanding of something I believe is at the very center:

Our living bodies and our material belongings will not be joining us on the other side.

For those of us who believe in something more than you live-you die, our souls should be the focus of our passing. Making sure that our soul is pure, making sure what we leave behind is not chemicals and jewels in a casket made from the forests, but instead we should leave behind a positive legacy of memories that inspires others to truly live and appreciate what time has been gifted to them. 

When we understand this and we focus on our souls, the state of our physical being becomes a non-issue and we can embrace cheaper, more eco-friendly ways to say goodbye.

I will leave you with this thought: How can our new funerary traditions and celebrations become sources of happiness, inspiration and ecological responsibility?

I would love to hear your thoughts so don’t forget to comment!

Texas ID Made: Sarah Gaitan

After four months, a name has been given to the set of skeletal remains that were found in a farmer’s field in Texas: Sarah Gaitan.

Sarah Gaitan, 24, went missing in October 2015. (Original Source)

The 24-year-old mother of four was missing since October 2015. She was from San Antonio, and the field she was found in is located in Marion County.

Last time we checked in on the case, officials were still looking through local missing persons and searching the field for more evidence. This process took weeks because the field was expansive and, as the farmer worked his land, more items were discovered.

With the help of Dr. Daniel Wescott from the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University, investigators were able to use the skeletal analysis and dental records to make this identification.

They have succeeded in the most important part of these types of investigations – giving a name to the nameless, helping the lost find their way home. While it is a tragedy that Gaitan’s four children are without a mother, the family is better off with the closure of knowing where she is.

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ORIGINAL NEWS CAST: Family fears for missing woman

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The investigation, however, is far from over. Cause of death is still to be determined as well as how her remains ended up in a field more than 30 miles away to begin with. Authorities have not come public about whether or not there was foul play involved, and they are still seeking information.

 

Is FARO’s ScanArm the future of forensic 3D imaging?

FARO.com

FARO is the leading brand in 3D measurement technology used in factory work, public safety and now forensic anthropology. The FARO® Forensic ScanArm solution was designed specifically for criminal investigations.

When used with 3D Systems Geomagic® software, the ScanArm allows scientists a noncontact way to scan items of forensic interest in high resolution. It is armed with blue laser technology, which boasts noise-free scanning in high detail at high speeds.

According to the website, it is easily portable. So, it isn’t just some piece of expensive sitting equipment. Theoretically, you could get the scan done before you even take the remains or whatever items to the laboratory.

Despite those claims, it might not be the ideal field equipment the company hoped it would be:

@sianysmith @amdenardo I wouldn’t say that it’s very portable-it takes several people to lift the cases as the scanner+stand are so heavy!

— Tom O’Mahoney (@bones2bytes) August 29, 2016

However, this doesn’t take away from all the good things about the equipment.

The interface is designed so that people without 3D imaging experience should be able to navigate it. With 3D imaging being a newer discipline and with its rapid technological advancement, this is important. One day, scientists will probably be able to use 3D scanning devices as easily as they can use a laptop. For now, the transition is still underway, and easy-to-use interfaces will be very helpful for both the people making the scans and the ones making the scanners.

We talked about 3D copies of skulls for facial recognition in another post. The ScanArm bears the same significance as it means to enable scientists to make these copies with the newest technology and be able to work with sturdy evidence. That is, to make identifications without damaging fragile human remains or other evidence.

“By listening to our rapidly growing base of Public Safety – Forensics customers, we have learned that thoroughly measuring and analyzing forensic evidence is of paramount importance. Our non-contact measurement tools allow forensic labs to meet this requirement while minimizing the risk of damaging the evidence. It is now possible to produce accurate and permanent 3D digital documentation of evidence from which measurements can be taken and analysis can be performed days or even decades later…” –Joe Arezone, Chief Commercial Officer of FARO

The key here is “noncontact.” According to this statement, it is no longer necessary to handle the remains or risk damaging them. Further, there are no sprays necessary for the laser to scan, so there is no apparent risk for contamination.

The ScanArm isn’t only to aid forensic anthropologists, however. It is designed for crime labs to create a digital archive of evidence to store for years to come as well as to use in court presentations. Medical examiners can use the ScanArm to digitally collect traumatic injuries quickly.

FARO.com

Another key is the speed with which these operations can be handled. Officials desire forensic investigations to be handled with care, but mostly with speed. And it is even worse when forensic anthropology and archaeology is a component of the investigation. It is hard work. If the ScanArm hopes to be successful, it will need to do the work accurately without taking away time from an already quickly ticking clock.

I can’t wait to see how else scientists will think to use the ScanArm and if it will live up to the high claims made by FARO.

Click here to learn more about the ScanArm and to schedule a personalized web demonstration.

FARO.com

 

Don’t cry over spilled milk

I’ve come across some research this past week about calcium and its relationship with our bone health.

Apparently, I was not wrong to assert that “we all know how important it is to drink our milk to allow for strong bones,” but I was dead wrong to assume we all know what we are talking about.

I came across a video on Facebook this week:

At first, I couldn’t believe it myself. Since I was in elementary school, I can remember my doctors, teachers, family and the television telling me how important milk was for the calcium in it.

Enter a caption

But drinking cow’s milk is not essential to human bone health.

Okay, I will give you a second to let that sink in.

Now, I didn’t just take the word of the Vox video. I don’t believe everything I see on the internet. I looked up scientific studies to either support or deny the claim in bold. The most recent study I found was from last year, and it concluded that there is no correlation between the consumption of milk and the risk of bone fracture. (You can read it in full here.)

This isn’t to say milk doesn’t contribute to health in any way at all. Claims that milk is detrimental to bone health are unfounded. There are benefits.

“…it is a good source of high biological value proteins with polyvalent roles in immune function, as well as nutrient transport and absorption and important vitamins and essential minerals.” -Paula C. Pereira

But it isn’t as important as the government and big dairy has made it out to be. So, if you aren’t a fan of milk, it’s alright. There are better ways to get your calcium and other ways to get the same benefits from other foods.

 

Racialization & Middle Eastern Americans

“War, hate, jealousy, racism – what are they but manifestations of fear?”
-F. Paul Wilson, American author

Have you ever been stopped at an airport because of your appearance? Has a teacher ever called you a terrorist in front of your classmates? Have you ever been publicly told you should die because of your religious beliefs and skin tone?

This and more happens to Middle Eastern-Americans every year in the United States.

We’ve talked a bit about race and social constructs on this blog before. Today, I want to explore the concept of racialization, specifically as it applies to Middle Eastern-Americans.

First, let’s define racialization. According to a quick search, you will find that it means “processes of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such.” It’s a bit vague, no?

Since America’s colonial foundations, the country has continued to see more than its fair share of racism. It isn’t surprising, in a country that started its history committed to using “whiteness” as a dominating system. Whiteness has always been, in some way, an essential characteristic of freedom. Therefore, racism establishes non-whites as different, “other,”  a label that begins racialization for any group.

As colonists marked Native Americans and African slaves as nonwhites or the inferior “them,” they also marked whites as the superior “us.” In addition, this racial hierarchy established who was able to own property and who was property. This distinction is not limited to times of slavery:

• Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882-1943
• Black Codes, 1865
• Jim Crow Laws, up to 1965

African-Americans and other groups have made it through the Civil Rights Era rather victoriously. Is it fair to say the fight for civil liberties ended with the era? I think not. Inequality runs rampant; it just finds new ways.

At least there are movements like Black Lives Matter for African-Americans. What do Middle Eastern-Americans have? Who is protesting on their behalf?

The racialization of Middle Eastern people began long before 9/11, very much through popular culture. They have been portrayed as barbaric, implying the superior civilization of Western culture when compared with the “savage” Orient. (Think, Aladdin!)

After 9/11, Middle Eastern-Americans were rapidly and radically racialized and are facing increasing hostility.While the Patriot Act expired last year, the damage has already been done. Racial profiling is supported by many Americans – an means to a “justified” end.

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“Much like the impact of entertainment media, American news broadcasts impact public opinion, and not so implicitly.  Only a handful of companies own all the media in the U.S. Each brand works to cater to its audiences, often foregoing actual news reporting for news analysis and commentary.  Most noticeably, Fox News panders to the Republican party while CNN is considered to be more Democratic. The way these organizations talk about Middle Eastern people intensely affects racial division in the U.S. through the sensationalization of American nationalism against terrorists and the misrepresentation of terrorists as Islamic rather than as radical fundamentalists. No less than fifty-five percent of Middle Eastern-Americans are Christian, anyway, yet Muslim has become synonymous with Arabic.

One study looked at talk shows from both Fox News and CNN and found negative depictions of Muslims in every show analyzed including Larry King Live and Fox News Sunday.  According to the study, the talk shows framed Muslims as a threat to western “civilization.” This frames Middle Eastern people as Muslim and Muslims as anti-American.  Forty-two percent of the time, Arabs were brought up in the context of the war on terror.  Middle Eastern countries like Pakistan were discussed as threats to “world peace that it’s now terrorist central” (Pervez & Saeed, 2010).  Further, the news talk shows presented completely inaccurate portrayals of the teachings of Islam. As the general public trusts their chosen networks, the People accept false truths as fact and perpetuate misunderstood interpretations of Islam, additionally implicating Arab- and Muslim-Americans as threats to the American way of life.

Presently, the race for the Presidency is unveiling the true colors of the American constituency, especially as it pertains to presidential candidate and former reality TV star Donald Trump.  Throughout the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly pinned the American people against Middle Eastern and Muslim people.  He’s blatantly advocated for the killing of the loved ones of terrorists, the return of waterboarding suspects, the banning of Muslims from entering the country and the closing and surveillance of American mosques.  As for the banning of Muslims traveling to the U.S., a March poll illustrates fifty percent of American voters support Trump’s plan (Wong, 2016).

The political…rhetoric in the U.S. pins Middle Easterners as America-hating enemies who want nothing more than to harm the “infidels.”  While it is directed at foreign Arabic people and Middle Eastern countries, many Americans who subscribe to the views of political candidates like Trump apply this hate speech to American citizens who fit the popularized physical description of a terrorist.” (DeNardo, 2016)

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All the things that create our social reality, such as television, movies, education, news media, lawmakers and more, have a responsibility in this process as well as to reverse it – deconstruct the racial reality. We cannot stand by and allow innocent people to be harassed, innovative 14-year-old boys to be arrested and the like.

With ISIS/L and the global tensions from the organization’s desire to dominate, there is no wonder there is fear.  However, racism as a reaction to fear does not need to be permanent.

We must:

• reform the news media
• facilitate political organization
• hold authorities accountable
• dismantle stereotypes
• highlight the achievements of Middle Eastern-Americans
• admit there is a problem
• be better

 

Recent Body Farm Findings Change Future of Forensics

Remember when I said some body farms have used pigs in taphonomic reasearch? Well, it looks like the times are changing.

Original Source

This week, the original Body Farm in Knoxville released new information that may affect an enormous amount of cases around the world.

 

It was a previously accepted practice to study decomposing animals to get information about humans. However, this new study illustrated such variance between animal and human decomposition that they become incomparable.

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“Now anthropologists and entomologists may be asked in court which studies they used to base their estimate of postmortem interval, and if they are based on nonhuman studies, their testimony could be challenged,” – Dawnie Steadman, director of the Forensic Anthropology Center

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For the study, the researchers placed fifteen of each species of pig, rabbit, and human at the Anthropology Research Facility over three seasons to assess decomposition patterns and rates.

In the study, 15 pigs, 15 rabbits and 15 human subjects were set to decompose over spring, summer and winter (5 of each per season) at the Anthropology Research Facility. Scientists were looking to analyze the patterns of insect activity and scavenging associated with decomposition as well as the rate at which each body decomposed.

In the spring, the pigs skeletonized faster than the humans. The rabbits were initially slower, but the rate of decomp took off when the maggots developed. In the summer, the pigs decomposed much faster and more completely than both humans and rabbits. Lastly, in the winter, it took 100 days before there was any insect activity, but there was scavenging. The humans seemed to make a tastier snack to the local critters as they didn’t pay much attention to the dead animals until after the human remains were picked clean.

These observations show that comparing animal and human decomposition is basically impossible. The future of forensic science and litigation will depend more on human body donations than ever before.

 

 

 

Beyond Decomposition: The use of ‘body farms’ in research

Imagine this: You are a scientist at a University that has finally approved your request to do outdoor forensic research using real human remains. The first few unclaimed bodies are shipped to you, a present from the local morgue.

You take each body and set them under certain conditions. One is put head first into a body of water, legs resting on land. Another is secured under a cage in direct sunlight, free from disturbances from animals. The last one is nude and covered with shrubbery and dark plastic.

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Every day, you check on the bodies to see how the decomposition is being affected by the varying conditions. You stick with your research through the bloating and all. The smell of rotting human flesh has become almost normal.

Sounds like a job for a character in a horror movie, right?

Since 1981, this has been a very real scenario for forensic anthropology faculty and students. The first outdoor research center for forensic taphonomic processes was opened by anthropologist Dr. William Bass at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Today in the U.S., there are six operational facilities:

Colloquially, these facilities are referred to as body farms, although some view the term as disrespectful.

“People like me intended no irreverence when we called it that, for no one respects the dead more than those of us who work with them and hear their silent stories.  The purpose is to help the living. That was the point when The Body Farm came into being more than twenty years before, when scientists got determined to learn more about time of death.  On any given day its several wooded acres held dozens of bodies in varying stages of decomposition. Research projects had brought me here periodically over the years, and though I would never be perfect in determining time of death, I had gotten better.” -Patricia Cornwell, The Body Farm (1994)

Not only do Cornwell’s words address the issue of respect toward the dead, they als0 provide an example of the importance of these research facilities in improving forensic skill.

The research done at body farms in becoming increasingly essential to the furthering of knowledge about different rates of decomposition, insect activity and animal scavenging. Projects can range from how climate and environment affect decomposition to how bodies react to being frozen.

The data from such research an assist forensic experts in real-life investigations in establishing traits like postmortem interval, or the time that’s passed since a person’s death. Body farms also serve other functions such as training centers for forensic anthropology students, law enforcement and cadaver dogs.

So far, the only body farms are located within the U.S.The problem with this is the research tends to be climate-specific. U.S. states and countries without body farms don’t have the taphonomic data for their region. This is why it is so important for the public in other countries to be educated about forensic research, to garner support for the building of such facilities abroad.

Australia, near the new facility. (Original Source)

The first one outside of the U.S. will most likely be located in Australia at the University of Technology, Syndey. The Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research, as it will be called, will be the first step in catching up other parts of the world with this type of forensic advancement.

The United Kingdom is also behind with forensic anthropological research. In the UK, pigs are being used in taphonomic pursuits. Unfortunately, the variability of humans makes the research on pigs less meaningful or applicable.

The UK is in need of a outdoor human body farm – but there are a lot of obstacles before that can happen. Citizens are expressing concern about where human research facilities will be located and how it will affect them. There isn’t the same opportunity for isolation of a facility there as in the States. Then, there’s funding and obtaining the bodies.

Who knows when these obstacles will be overcome? Until the conditions are met and the UK and other countries can move forward in this process, the potential to expand the breadth of scientific research for the sake of research as well as for application in medicolegal cases is at a halt.

 

What’s new in facial reconstruction?

At times, forensic investigators have a hard enough time identifying human remains with most of the flesh present. So what happens when the body is mostly or fully skeletonized?

A forensic artist uses the skull and scientific parameters to reconstruct the face of the individual. This is used to compare with missing persons and try to identify them. Since the discipline began, drawings and models using the skull have been used in the process, and there are problems with these practices.

The biggest problem is the subjectivity of the forensic artists, which can also lead to unidentified individuals never being identified because some features can’t be measured osteologically.

A facial reconstruction of Gail Matthews, a victim of the Green River Killer. Her lips were unique and unable to be properly estimated due to decomposition.

3D printing is transforming forensic science and biological anthropology and for the better. Scientists use CT and MRI scans as well as other medical imaging techniques. Using this data, they are able to produce 3D models of bones from a 3D printer. The anatomically correct models are able to show trauma on the bones.

Skeletal remains are not usually entered into evidence in a court of law because it is thought to be too disturbing. These models eliminate the traumatic experience of seeing the dead person’s actual remains. To handle bones in the courtroom can cause degradation to them, destroying evidence. With 3D printing, this doesn’t happen.

This new technology is still being developed and perfected by scientists every day. The future will see increasing applications of forensically applied medical procedures. These applications will become standardized and more accurate over time, eliminating most of the subjectivity that compromises some cases.

 

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