Luke Perry Buried in Mushroom Burial Suit

Back in March 2016, SevenPonds wrote about a new approach to more environmentally friendly burial — a mushroom burial suit. Designed and marketed by the New York-based company Coeio, the suit was conceived by company founder JR Lee as a way to mediate contamination of soil and groundwater as bodies — especially embalmed bodies — decompose.

Now we’ve learned that the actor Luke Perry, who died at the age of 52 following a massive stroke on March 4, 2019, was buried in just such a suit. According to his daughter Sophie, Perry learned about the suit some time ago and was so excited by the concept that he decided he wanted to be buried in one. It was one of his “final wishes,” Sophie said.

Luke Perry was laid to rest in Tennessee on March 11, 2019. He was shrouded in the mushroom suit in lieu of a conventional casket.  

Based on Mycoremediation

Also known as the Infinity Burial Suit, the mushroom burial suit is based on the concept of mycoremediation, the process through which mushrooms remove pollutants and toxins from the soil in which they grow. It’s not a new concept, nor is it unique to the mushroom suit. Studies dating back to 2005 have shown that various species of mushrooms emit enzymes that can neutralize a wide array of chemicals, including crude oil, biodegradable plastics, radioactive contaminants, and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), a toxin used in herbicides. And through a different process known as biosorption, mushrooms and other fungi also physically remove heavy metal contaminants such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury from the soil.

A model shows off the mushroom burial suit
Credit: Coeio.com

But why is this relevant to human burials? If a person forgoes embalming (which uses a host of toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, phenol, methanol, and more) will their body still contaminate the soil? The answer is: No one really knows. There are few studies available that analyze the effects of burial on soil and groundwater, and virtually none that look specifically at the chemicals human bodies emit when they decompose.

“Chemical Soup”

Still, it’s well known that the human body contains a vast array of chemicals, most of them in minute amounts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor the levels of about 300 of these in a random sample of Americans each year. What they’ve found is disconcerting, to say the least. From byproducts of tobacco smoke, pesticides and fire retardants to heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, the typical American plays host to a vast array of toxins throughout their lives. And as far as we know, they are buried with them when they die.

Additionally, every human body releases hundreds of byproducts of the natural process of decomposition over time. According to this brief video from Scientific American, these include freon, benzene, sulfur, carbon tetrachloride and several hundred more. 

So, while there’s not a lot of information about how much benefit the mushroom suit may provide, it appears that it certainly can’t hurt. What’s more, Mr. Perry’s choice may encourage more people to think about environmentally friendly burial options, whether or not they opt for the mushroom burial suit.