It is every person’s responsibility to protect the environment. Most human activities that you perform while you lead a life cannot be called eco-friendly. Do you know the traditional burial methods that humans have been following for ages are also not eco-friendly?
Why Are People Opting for a Green Burial?
Conventional burial relies on caskets that are coated with toxic preservatives. The casket manufacturing process involves embalming fluids in processing and finishing the wood caskets that are not good for plant and animal life. Once buried, the caskets start to decay and release toxins that percolate in the soil.
Other cremation methods involving the burning of wood and fossil fuels release air pollutants and consume more energy. The smoke released during such cremation methods releases chemicals like mercury (from dental fillings) and carbon monoxide harmful to all kinds of life on earth.
Gary P. Cubeta from Insurance for Final Expenses mentions these are some reasons why people are opting for green burial methods like mushroom suit burial.
What Is a Mushroom Suit?
Mushroom burial suits refer to organic cotton clothes that have mushroom spores sewn into the fabric. People who buy these suits give up the coffin in favor of direct burial in the ground. When the body is buried in the ground, the mushroom spores help in body decomposition.
The mushroom suit relies on a biological mixture of mushroom mycelium and other microbes that speed the body decomposition process. The microorganisms neutralize the toxins released by the decomposing body and return the body to nature.
According to Gary P. Cubeta from Insurance for Final Expenses, one notable thing about mushroom suit burial is that fungi grow from the shrouded corpse. The mushroom suit neutralizes most environmental contaminants a human body carries, including preservatives, heavy metals, and pesticides.
How Do Mushroom Suits Help?
The mushroom embedded in the fabric starts working 24 hours after it is worn by the deceased. The mushroom and the microbes’ bio mix start breaking down the body by letting out enzymes. The microbes deactivate the body toxins by making heavy metals and then removing them via bioaccumulation.
Mushrooms are known to remove toxic contaminants from the environment through a process known as mycoremediation. The fungi’s digestive enzymes break down contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and hydrocarbons in this process.
The fungi also break organic toxins by disrupting their molecular bonds that neutralize toxins. In heavy metals, the mushroom binds the toxins through a chemical process and turns the toxins harmless to the environment.
The mushroom varieties used in this suit are edible varieties like oyster and shitake mushrooms that help clean up the soil.
Can Mushroom Suits Be Used for Traditional Burial?
If the deceased’s family insists on using a coffin, they can do so while using the mushroom suit that fits easily in the casket. The mushroom bio-mix in the suit will speed up the body decomposition process as it uses the wood of the casket as nutrients. However, you need to follow the correct burial methods for the best results.
- The burial plot needs to be at least four feet deep to allow the mushrooms to germinate properly.
- It would help if you kept the mushroom suit in the darkroom to make it ready for burial. Once the deceased has worn the mushroom suit, the body should be cremated within 24 hours for the mushroom to germinate properly.
To sum up, humans are already experiencing the ill effects of polluting the environment. Every person must embrace green burial methods that will reduce the carbon footprint when we leave the earth.
The mushroom burial suit method is less expensive than traditional cremation methods, and you should be happy you are doing your bit for Mother Earth even after your life ends.