Source: Ted Talks: Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit
Jae Rhim Lee discusses a solution to burial and environmental issues in regards to cycling toxins from our dead bodies back into the earth.
When we die all of the toxins that our bodies hold are decomposed and placed back into the earth to continue their cycle. The solution that Jae Rhim suggests is to selectively breed mushrooms to recognize and eat an individual’s dead body. These mushrooms (infinity mushrooms) will end the cycle of the toxins since they naturally remove toxins on their own.
Jae Rhim sees this opportunity as a new way to see death and to lessen the environmental footprint that humans leave on the planet. It is her solution to becoming responsible for our own impacts on the planet.
She has developed suit and capsule dealing with mushroom spores to spread over a dead body to start the decomposition process. The plan is to have these prototypes perfected within the next couple years and has volunteers who are donating their bodies to her research.
The business plan is built around body decompiculture and toxin remediation. This is not only a practice but a society in which people can donate their dead bodies to this research and development of this opportunity in search for a more responsible death.
This Ted Talk is important because it stresses two themes. The first is the identification of an ongoing issue (going green) in an established industry. Jae Rhim is altering the funeral service industry. The second trend is the fact that she is an artist and not an engineer or business professional. Entrepreneurship and new opportunities are not built by only these working professionals. They are built from passionate innovative people.
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