Would You Consider Becoming Compost?
We talk about the new law and hear whether you’d want to become human compost.
September 27, 2022
55 min
Full
1,483 of 3,393
September 27, 2022
Would You Consider Becoming Compost?
0:00 / 55:44
Excerpt playback isn’t available for this episode — use the full-episode link.
Search the Record
Moment search isn’t open for this episode yet
When it opens, you’ll be able to type any phrase and jump straight to the second it was said.
America the Jesuit Review Episodes Around September 27, 2022
Episode 1,483 of 3,393 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
55:44This episodeWould You Consider Becoming Compost?
Summary
Come 2027, Californians will have a new post-death option: to become human compost. A law signed by Governor Newsom this month made California the fifth state to legalize “natural organic reduction,” which lets human bodies decompose into a cubic yard of soil. While green burials — the process of wrapping the deceased in a shroud and placing them in the ground — are already legal, composting doesn’t require a dedicated portion of land. And though it’s more expensive than cremation, it’s also less carbon-intensive. We’ll talk about the new law and hear whether you’d want to become human compost.
Guests:
Courtney Applewhite, doctoral candidate studying environmental disposition ("eco-funerals"), UC Santa Barbara
Cristina Garcia, assembly member, representing California's 58th Assembly District
Katrina Spade, founder and CEO, Recompose
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode details and artwork are published by the show’s own feed. Sentinel plays short cited excerpts and links every episode back to its publisher.