For the environmentally conscious, the ecological impact of burying a loved one can be a major concern. Fortunately, one incredible business is making it possible for mourners to honor the people they lost while being conscientious about our planet: This funeral home offers the option to substitute a loved one’s headstone with a salad.
Absolutely amazing! This is definitely the most ecological burial choice that could ever possibly exist!
Clients of the Osiris Funeral Home in Anaheim, CA who are concerned about the environmental impact of a traditional headstone, from the energy consumption involved in shipping and processing the materials to toxicity of the chemicals used to treat the stone, can now bury their deceased loved ones and mark the site of their grave with a stately, bespoke salad. The salads have very low shipping costs because they come from a local restaurant, and since vegetables are basically plants, it’s just like adding extra plants to the ground.
“Salads are a delicious, biodegradable, and beautifully elegant way to honor a loved one,” said Erin Wesley, the Osiris’s lead funeral director. “We put the salad in a beautiful wooden bowl engraved with your loved one’s name and the ingredients of the salad, and in this way we honor the departed and we honor the Earth at the same time.”
This completely rocks! It’s honestly horrible and shameful that we haven’t been doing this for hundreds of years!
Erin says that most of the people who arrange funerals with her business now opt for a salad instead of a headstone, and she says that many of them report feeling more at peace in their grieving process knowing that their loved one’s final resting place is right beneath an ecologically responsible salad. Erin says it’s not uncommon for people to visit the gravesite of a lost family member and solemnly pour ranch dressing over the salad that marks their final resting place.
As if the environmental benefits weren’t awesome enough, marking your loved one’s grave with a salad is also a far more cost-effective option! While a traditional headstone can cost over $1000, the memorial salads sold by Osiris only cost $600, or $950 with grilled chicken or shrimp added.
“Grave salads are better for the Earth, better for your wallet, and better for the souls of mourners everywhere,” Erin says. “I think someday soon we’re going to start seeing entire cemeteries filled with rows and rows of salads.”
This is definitely the most perfect and joyful news that you’re going to read all day! Kudos to Osiris Funeral Home for leading the way forward on alternative burial options that are as delicious as they are sustainable. We can’t wait to start marking our loved ones’ graves with salads as soon as possible!
