Funeral homes are being scared away from “green” burial options by an indemnification form the National Funeral Directors Association included in one of their recent magazine issues, according to an open letter posted on Funeral Consumers Alliance. The language basically suggests that if you don’t use mainstream funeral methods, in terms of the embalming and type of coffin used, you won’t be able to show grandma because she’ll be all rotted, the grave will turn into a sinkhole, and you might not be able to find where the body was buried years down the road. Here’s the specific language they’re using…
5. ADVISORY:
The Green Funeral choice is usually made for environmental reasons and a desire for a simpler disposition. It is an appropriate and meaningful choice for certain families. However, it does preclude certain options and poses several risks that the REPRESENTATIVE has been advised of and is now acknowledging. The REPRESENTATIVE has been advised by the FUNERAL HOME that with a Green Funeral the FUNERAL HOME can provide no assurances regarding the appearance or the condition of DECEDENT’s remains, that there will not be a public visitation or viewing of the DECEDENT, that there are possible health risks posed by handling an unembalmed body, that there can be substantial risks of physical injury to pallbearers from holding, carrying, and transporting a body in a container that may not be designed to hold the weight or to be safely lifted and carried, that burial of the body in a grave plot without an outer burial container may lead to the ground settling and sinking over the grave, that the body may not be able to be disinterred and moved at a later date, and that in later years it may be difficult or impossible to locate the grave due to the lack of a permanent marker or monument.
Over at Funeral Consumers Alliance, they translate this into what they think it really means…
NFDA Lawyer Uses Scare Tactics on Green Burial Customers [Funeral Consumers Alliance]
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Bears mentioning that if a person served in the United States Military and was honorably discharged most often they can qualify for a free military burial. Most commonly this is easiest to get done in their states military cemetary versus a federal military cemetary. Their spouse and dependent adult children (such as extremely physical or mental handicapped adults) then qualify to be buried in the same plot.
This came in handy when my father passed a couple years ago. He (and my mother) had specified to be donated to science but the medical college declined due to his weight. Apparently they want bodies which are easier to work with – ie. not as heavy set.
That said- we did the private post cremation funeral at the state vet cemetary and then had a memorial mass (Roman Catholic) the Friday after and a huge party. This was all down in a vacation beach town in NJ in June. The old man would have loved it since so many people got to get out of work early to go to the memorial and have food and drinks afterward!!!
This party inspired a spry but older family friend (80 year old woman) to have a “celebration of her life” party. She wanted to blow the money with her family and friends before she died and told them specifically to cremate her and plant her the cheapest way possible with no fanfare since she already had the party!!!
The funeral industry has been doing this for years. Read “The American Way of Death” for some insight into how.
I’m actually a manager at a direct cremation place in California so I’d like to put in my two cents here.
Can’t do that in California or everyone would “abandon” and never pay for taking care of the body. Legal next of kin has to pay whether they want to or not. There are exceptions i.e. deceased is indigent, but otherwise, family can’t just get out of paying because they don’t want to.
The state of California does require a “basic cremation container” where the body to be cremated must go. We charge $25 plus tax for that.
We use a heavy duty plastic “box”…it’s inexpensive, can be put in an “urn vault”, can be taken on a plane (should family want to transport to cemetery out of state) and is only $25 (plus tax of course)
Be aware that just because you want your body donated, doesn’t mean they will accept you (even if you have signed up beforehand etc). There can be weight and health restrictions (and sometimes they just don’t need a body). So your family may still end up paying. Check with the school or department that you plan on dealing with and read the fine print. Also note that most places these days do not return you in an urn…you (or the body parts left) are cremated and scattered at sea.
If the person is refrigerated there shouldn’t be a problem. Obviously you can’t have a five hour viewing, but we have one hour viewings of people all the time before they are cremated (and this can be days or weeks after the person passed (and we have refrigerated trucks for transport too).
The new machines they are using take up much less energy and keep emissions to a minimum. It’s heavily regulated in California…you probably do more damage to the environment driving your car for a week.
Please don’t lump us all under one entity! There really are places out there that don’t work on commissions and care about the families they deal with!
WOW, for all the people who have no interest in having any kind of “funeral work” done when they pass into the great beyond…and don’t “care” what their loved ones do with them…there sure are a LOT of comments.
I am a funeral director, that’s right, one of those lowly, slimy, “steal you blind” creeps…funny, when I started working at a funeral home before I could drive, I really thought I was doing something to help people, I mean, all those people were hugging me and telling me how much I helped them through a difficult time…gee, I must have been wrong.
Are there problems in the industry? Duh…of course, as there are in ANY industry, though admittedly the funeral industry is obviously prone to more visceral responses than say…your Doctor not knowing his or her stuff (and you sure don’t know any better) and then you paying the price by lengthy, unnecessary hospital stays…and their accompanying bills.
The truth is that funeral service evolved out of the desire of the survivors of Union soldiers to have their loved one’s remains returned from the the southern battlefields coupled with urbanization that led to “home services” being more difficult, hence the “mortician-undertaker” opening his “home” (think “funeral home”) to families in need.
Are there greedy SOB’s out there? Absolutely, but there are more decent people trying to provide a service that is being requested…green burials are a viable option…but perhaps not for everyone…just because “you want one” does not mean everyone does…green or not.
I’m Josh Slocum, who wrote the article criticizing this green burial idemnification form. I’m jumping in to correct some misinformation (again) that some in the funeral industry have posted. If you guys want to separate funeral fact from fiction, come see us at [www.funerals.org.] Most of what we think we know about death, dying and funerals is false. Rule of thumb: any time someone in the funeral industry claims there’s a law requiring something, insist they produce it. 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t exist. Most of you all really savvy – some of you jumped right on it – great! Excellent comments also from those of you questioning the idea that $$ = “love for the dead.”
To badgerman46, above, who posted the Massachusetts law that he claims requires a concrete vault for burial. No, it doesn’t. I don’t think you read carefully:
“The permanent disposition of such bodies or remains shall be by interment in the earth OR deposit in a chamber, vault or tomb. . “
I emphasized the “or,” in case you missed it.
It pays funeral people to read laws carefully. Misrepresenting the law to consumers is a violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule.
To JustMe:
Thanks for jumping in here from the industry side. There are a lot of good, upstanding people in funeral service, and your frank answers demonstrate that. I’m only criticizing misinformation from organizations like NFDA, not all funeral businesses.
To bizzz, who asked about the Neptune Society:
You may want to read our article on them before you sign a check. Go to http://www.funerals.org, use the search box, and type in “neptune.”
To Talkeaton, who said he thinks New York law requires a concrete vault: No, it doesn’t. In fact, New York is one of two states (the other is Vermont) that allow you to refuse a vault on religious grounds. It’s in section 201.6 of NY cemetery law, available at:
[www.dos.state.ny.us]
“(4) should a lot owner, a person with burial rights or a representative of one about to be interred express objection to the use of the required concrete burial vault or grave liner at the time of interment based upon a religious belief, the cemetery must, without question, cancel the requirement that a concrete vault or concrete grave liner be used;. . .”
I’d love it if you guys would post comments and questions about death and funerals at [www.funerals.org], too. We’ve got open comments on most articles, and a discussion forum.
Just in case anyone wants to know how I know these details, my job requires me to research the law and give consumers facts. I’m also co-writing an upcoming book on funeral and burial law for consumers, state by state. But I can make mistakes too, and if someone catches me making one, I hope they’ll let me know! Thanks again to Ben at consumerist.com for giving this play.
Josh Slocum
Executive Director, Funeral Consumers Alliance
@joshuaslocum: Check your messages.
@RedwoodFlyer
by you stating your value in a car ( a bmw vs. a kia) is how you percieve the statement. Your entitled to your thoughts and i respect that. But i am not saying theres value in what you buy. The main point i was trying to stress is i let families know that all of the caksets serve the same purpose, to go from here to there. Thats all. I dont say its like a car to families, i was using it as a simple way to describe it here, on this forum. I tell families, ” were about to enter the selection room, theres many make and models of caskets and many diffrent prices as well, but they all serve the same purpose. Choose only what your comfertable with and ill be in the hallway to give you some privacy and also if you have any questions.” The statement at least to me shows nothing about buy something really expensive cause dad wont be happy if you dont. Like i said, as long as a family is happy, im happy. Regardless of whatever they buy. On the matter of the case, its information we had to read about in school to be a funeral director. I dont have the information, so did i make it up “NO” but i cant support it so do what you wish with that. And the only thing i feel guilty about is how i havent been in the business long enough to change more peoples minds. I should have started sooner.
@ DoorT
Thank you, at least there’s two funeral directors who joined the business for the right reasons. Like everything theres always some bad apples. Hopefully we changed someones mind by showing we care.
the main purpose of embalming is disinfection, then preservation. no you cannot get anything from a properly embalmed body. BUT you can get a disease from an unembalmed body. but, either way embalmers wear gloves. the health risks are a bit greater w/o embalming if handling w/o gloves. it would be silly & irresponsible of you to think you could “just scrub of an infectious agent”. you cannot wash off h.i.v., or tissue gas if you, unbeknownst to you, had a paper cut & fluid from a body got into your open cut. you risk bringing this home to your families (they didn’t ask for you to bring home a disease so why be selfish & do it?) also, gases escape bodies when one dies, TB,& creutzfeld jacob is a huge disease (a sure death sentence) that is exacerbated upon death, bodies also leak (feces, urine, blood). a good embalmer will use all necessary protective equipment so they will not get contaminated nor bring any diseases home with them to their families. also, bleach is actually more toxic than formaldehyde. to the people on this site that mentioned they were ripped off by shady funeral homes, I am so sorry! BUT, you can sue. a casket IS NOT required to be buried in!! you only need to be shrouded (a sheet, cloth, etc), unless LOCAL laws state otherwise. just like anything else, searching for a doctor, dentist, a school, mechanic, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! most people spend more time researching for a new car or t.v. than they do for a a burial service. know your rights!! also, PRE PLAN your funeral!!! do your research now so your loved ones won’t get taken @ the time of need by unscrupulous funeral homes. keep in mind there are shady people in EVERY line of work! by the way, i am an embalmer, i am all for green funerals, i strongly believe that’s the way they should be & i want to be cremated.