Let Them Eat Flesh: Jae Rhim Lee – Mushroom Burial Suit

Immortality may be just around the corner. Until then, we have a few questions to consider. Would you want your dead body to be eaten by mushrooms if you knew it would save the environment and possibly save the future of humanity?

Whenever I think of my death, the first thing I think about is how will it happen? Like most people, I hope the end comes at an old age or if not, fast and painless. However, the next thought is, what will happen to my body? I’m progressive. I grew up in the 80s. My only obvious choice …cremation. However, a few years ago I was introduced to the idea (after watching an episode of Six Feet Under) of GREEN BURIALS. Just drive out to a beautiful meadow and toss my old rotting flesh bag into a cozy dirt pit, cover me up with warm soil and plant a few daisies. On second thought, make that freesia. And voilà !

Not so fast.

The CDC published an updated a new study in February 2012 that found at least 212 toxic chemicals in blood and urine samples in the U.S. population. Herbicides, heavy metals, insecticides, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons…..should I go on? So, it seems modern culture has given us a unique challenge. How do we dispose of our toxic bodies? Do we shove them into Golden Caskets and stack them on top of the thousands of other golden caskets until the Earth is one big toxic burial plot?

The most earth and human friendly option may come from a movement called DECOMPICULTURE a term coined by Timothy G. Myles in 1993. Out of this idea of decompiculture, a brilliant new vision for the postmortem has emerged from an artist named Jae Rhim Lee. She has created THE MUSHROOM BURIAL SUIT. In this burial method, the dead toxic body is wrapped in a head to toe suit embroidered with thread infused with mushroom spores. These “infinity mushrooms” eat the body as food and absorb and clear the toxins that reside in the body. Sign me up!

It has been well documented that mushroom mycelium naturally break down toxic hydrocarbons and other toxic environmental wastes. If we could get past our egos and deal with death in an adult evolved manner, we would see that this is the future of human burial.

What do you think? Is this the answer to a growing future ? Would you demand that your family give you a mushroom burial?

Written by: Gray Scott

August 26, 2012 By Gray Scott

About the author

Gray Scott is founder and editorial director of SERIOUS WONDER.com. He is a futurist philosopher, speaker, writer and artist. Gray is an active professional member of The World Futurist Society.