UPDATE 1/16/2009 - Billy Campbell, founder of the nation's first green cemetery, wrote an editorial in the Macon Telegraph inviting Bibb County Commissioners to tour his burial ground. Let's see if he gets a better response than we did.

---

For the first time, an American county has banned green burial. Bibb County, Georgia, enacted an ordinance November 4, 2008, essentially making it impossible for environmentally friendly cemeteries to open. Astonishingly, residents and Commissioners claimed they were protecting the environment by banning the most environmentally benign form of burial. Misinformation stoked fears among citizens about decomposing bodies leaking into the groundwater. Never mind that naturally decaying bodies don't harm aquifers, never mind the environmental impact (and out-of-pocket cost) of burying corpses full of formaldehyde and encased in steel and concrete. The Commission went on a legislative frenzy with the perverse consequence of enshrining the most expensive and resource-intense burials as the only kind allowed in Bibb County. Click "Read More" below. . .

October 6, 2008 - The Federal Trade Commission has  issued an advisory opinion that crematories that do business directly with the public have to abide by the Funeral Rule, just like funeral homes do. The Funeral Rule gives consumers important rights when shopping for after-death services, such as the right to pick and choose only what they want to buy, and the right to clear, accurate price information in writing before finalizing arrangements.

The ruling came in response to a request from the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service. The NCBFS had been advising independent crematories that they did not have to comply with the Funeral Rule. FCA volunteers at the FCA of the Piedmont in Greensboro discovered this after finding serious violations of consumer protection rules on the price lists provided by some crematories. If you live in the Greensboro, NC area, be sure to check out the funeral price survey just put out by your local FCA chapter (and consider donating to their nonprofit, volunteer work!).

Bottomline for funeral consumers: You have the right to a printed, itemized price list from a crematory, even if it doesn't offer the full services of a funeral home. Be sure to bone up on your rights under the Funeral Rule, whether you do business with a full-service mortuary or a cremation-only firm.

UPDATE August 4, 2009 -

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan threw out prominent funeral director Thomas Lynch’s libel and defamation suit against Funeral Consumers Alliance and two other defendants. On July 31, Judge Robert H. Cleland granted summary judgment for the defendants, ruling that Lynch had no case for libel or defamation.

“We’re delighted the court has upheld FCA’s right to free speech,” said Joshua Slocum, Executive Director. “The Constitution protects Americans’ right to engage in vigorous public debate, and that includes criticizing the words and deeds of public figures like Mr. Lynch. Simply because the target of that criticism does not enjoy it does not make such critique illegal. FCA will continue commenting on matters of importance to funeral consumers, and that commentary may take the form of critiquing the writing or statements of prominent funeral directors. We expect this ruling will discourage any disgruntled funeral industry figures from attempting in the future to intimidate and silence consumer organizations through legal bullying.”

Click READ MORE for the rest of the story. . .

-  Josh Slocum, FCA Executive Director

I posted my commentary on NFDA's Green Burial Idemnification form to a funeral director's email discussion list. I wanted to know what the members thought of the issue. The split in the responses has been fascinating. Several funeral directors offered thoughtful, considered, and pro-consumer positions. This alone made the post worth it. Despite what some undertakers think, I actually like meeting thoughtful industry people to put on my electronic Rolodex. If I didn't have a group of trustworthy, honest people in the business to consult with and learn from, I couldn't do my job effectively.

But whoah, nelly, did the conversation take a wrong turn. I started a brief discussion about the practice of mandating that customers do an "identification viewing" of a dead body, and a funeral director who calls herself "Morticia" went apoplectic. I'm still wondering what I said that got her formaldehyde boiling over. See if you can figure it out. I've pasted the good, the bad, and the ugly below.  Comments welcome and encouraged. . ..