What's the point of burying or cremating the dead?

Question

Why not put the bodies out for scavengers?

The town where I live has more land devoted to cemetaries than parks.

I've read numerous articles talking about corpse bacteria showing up in drinking water. Because scavengers will take care of the body a lot faster than decomposition, it seems like that wouldn't be as much of a problem if the body's left out for animals.

So what is the point of devoting so much (the land required for cemetaries, materials required for a casket/urn, and the fuel required for cremation) to decaying matter?

If you wish to claim respect as a reason, I demand an answer to the following two questions:

#1 - How is it disrespectful to do things the way nature intended?

#2 - How is it more respectful to have bacteria do it? The end result is the same, however your way results in much more pollution and consumption of resources such as land, wood, metal, fuel, etc.

Clean? Sure, if pumping people full of a carcinogen, putting them in a box covered in toxic substances, and sticking them in the ground through which the rain water goes is what you consider "clean." And don't forget the drinking water tainted with corpse bacteria. Yummy. I actually boil my water before using it now becauseof that

If you wish to use "clean" as a reason: How is it more clean to do the above paragraph than to put it out in the country for the coyotes, wolves, bears, etc or in the oceans for the sharks?

I remember seeing a show on the Parsis, though I couldn't remember their name. Interesting group they are.

Answer 1

In 50 years, we'll be at 10 billion souls on this earth at our current rate of growth, at what point will it be mandatory that we find a more efficient way of getting rid of our dead???

Answer 2

What a horrible idea.

First there is the whole respect for the person who died and their family issue - imagine your loved one set out in the road 1/2 eaten and you had to walk by every day.

Then there is the smell and disease issue - flies, maggots, ants - I do not know where you live but there are no starving wolves where I live.

How great is being in the park going to be with dead bodies laying about?

All that being said the point of burying or cremating the dead is to get the body out of contact with the living ASAP

Answer 3

Perhaps there is only one prominent culture ... the parsis, who offer the body to 'nature's scavenger ... the vultures, as food.
They have a religion that impresses upon them the difference between a live person and a dead one! So, they even rejoice after death of a beloved person, in the belief that the being of the dead person has reached God. Now the body is no more that person, so offer it as food to another living being as its food.

Answer 4

if u keep dead mice hidden in ur home for 10 days . their bodies will start to decompose , rot & smell . Burying them is profitable , easy & clean . No smell , no dirt , they rot but they add nitrogenous wastes to the earth , whicch is good . Otherwise it's
an eco system . People are fed to earth & insects in the end of the food cycle . U can't tease or destroy this system

Answer 5

Ever smelled the stench of a decomposing animal? How much more a human body lying around your community waiting for scavengers to clean/eat them up? Imagine how many thousands of people die every minute!!!!! It would smell like hell!!!

Answer 6

All I ask you to do is wait. Wait until it is your mom or dad, wait until it is your friend or child. You just wait, and then we will see how eager you are to watch their body covered with flies and maggots. We'll see how eager you are to watch them bloat with gas, putrefy, and rupture.

It is VERY easy to be brave when death is an abstract, but when you see his face in the eyes of someone you love, you'll know why we don't leave our dead to rot in the streets.

But until that time comes for you, and don't worry-it will, you won't understand.

Answer 7

The point is simple brother, that is what distiguishes man from animals. If you dont dispose of your dead, the laws of men will prosecute you for being an animal. LOL

Answer 8

the biggest point of it is to stop disease from taking over. back in the middle ages, they used catapults to hurl dead bodies over the walls of castles. then they'd wait for disease to wipe out everyone then they'd go in and take over. no fuss, no muss. lol.

Answer 9

Most people wouldn't feel right knowing they just let their Mom be devoured by vultures.

Answer 10

its alittle thing called having respect for the dead you idiot. when your dead, do you want wild animals eating your body parts?? probably not