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New Cali. law allows human remains to be turned into compost to combat climate change

September 22, 2022 | | Print Article

If the Left’s push to eat bugs and grow fake meat in a lab has already conjured for you images of the 1973 sci-fi horror flick Soylent Green, just wait until you hear about the new bill California Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed into law.

In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, starting in 2027, the dearly departed in the Golden State can now be turned into human compost rather than be buried in a cemetery or cremated after death.

In a process known as “natural organic reduction,” or NOR, your loved one will be placed into a reusable steel container, surrounded by flowers and wood chips “to aerate it” until microbes and bacteria devour the body, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

In roughly one month, after the remains have fully decomposed, your friend or family member will be turned into soil, a rather macabre process, but one which advocates promise is way better for the climate.

And hey, it’s profitable, too — a fact that surely had nothing to do with the proposal.

Under the new law, the soil made from Grandma can then be sold or used to grow food for your dinner table.

You cannot, however, combine dead people for use in your raised garden unless they are related. Apparently, that’s just a step too far.

In a statement, the bill’s author, Democratic Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, was upbeat about the new opportunity for Californians.

“AB 351 will provide an additional option for California residents that is more environmentally friendly and gives them another choice for burial,” she said. “With climate change and sea-level rise as very real threats to our environment, this is an alternative method of final disposition that won’t contribute emissions into our atmosphere.”

“I look forward to continuing my legacy to fight for clean air by using my reduced remains to plant a tree,” she added.

The unorthodox procedure has already been embraced by the ultra-Progressive city of Seattle, where Micah Truman runs Return Home, a funeral home that specializes in NOR.

As CEO and founder of the funeral home, Truman says business is booming.

“With cremation, instead of sitting with our person and saying goodbye, we are very divorced from the process,” Truman told The Guardian, adding that the soil produced is returned to the loved ones, who often plant trees or flowers in it or spread it in the ocean.

Citing a report from National Geographic, the Daily Mail reports that, just in the United States, cremation emits “about 360,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.”

But not everyone is keen on the environmentally-friendly alternative. The Catholic Church has already voiced its opposition.

In a statement to SFGATE, Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference said, “NOR uses essentially the same process as a home gardening composting system.”

“These methods of disposal were used to lessen the possibility of disease being transmitted by the dead carcass,” she continued. “Using these same methods for the ‘transformation’ of human remains can create an unfortunate spiritual, emotional, and psychological distancing from the deceased.”

But what’s a little distance compared to CO2 emissions?

“The wildfires, extreme drought and heat dome we just experienced remind us that climate change is real and detrimental and we must do everything we can to reduce methane and CO2 emissions,” Garcia said, according to the Sacramento Bee. “This is an alternative method of final disposition that won’t contribute emissions into our atmosphere and will actually capture CO2 in our soil and trees. For each individual who chooses NOR over conventional burial or cremation, the process saves the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon from entering the environment.”

Online, the news that California has joined Washington, Colorado, and Oregon in allowing NOR is repulsing many Twitter users.

“Another step toward the ‘Soylent Green’ world,” wrote one user.

“Gross and disgusting,” tweeted another.

A third pointed out the lack of respect the process shows for the dead.

“OMG! We bury the dead out of respect for the dignity of God’s creation making us in his image and likeness. This is barbaric!” the user exclaimed.

“‘Solient [sic] Green’? Sacrilege,” the user stated, adding, “Gruesome wants to run for POTUS?”

Melissa Fine
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