October 28, 2022Slow Living

Tom Harries

Our guest today is Tom Harries, co-founder and CEO of Earth™, a sustainable funeral brand specializing in soil transformation. So what is soil transformation, and what does it have to do with death care and burial? What does it share in common with the green burial movement —and how is it different? 

Tom has been innovating in the funeral industry for almost a decade, and in this conversation he tells us not only about this carbon-neutral alternative to burial or cremation, but also about how his company is providing ways to reimagine funerals, providing a more sustainable and modern alternative to all aspects of conventional death care.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, Youtube, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics covered:

  • Join the ALMANAC for fall!
  • Tom's entry into the death care industry
  • Making funeral service sustainable
  • Traditional death care practices
  • From funeral logistics to soil transformation 
  • What is soil transformation, the process and how it differs from cremation and burial
  • Building a 21st-century experience in death care
  • How does soil transformation differ from green burial?
  • The issue of land availability for human body disposition
  • The results of soil transformation, what is the quality of the soil from the human remains?
  • Goals for Earth™
  • The cost of soil transformation relative to cremation and other current death care practices 
  • Preplanning for death care
  • Legalization of the soil transformation process
  • Our conversation with Heidi Hannapel about Green Burial

Connect with Tom:

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Original music by John Kingsley. The Good Dirt podcast is edited and engineered by Aleksandra van der Westhuizen and produced by Mary Ball.

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well being.