Hwk 52

Precis:
The method of embalming dates back to Ancient Egypt; many individuals in the funeral industry like the idea of embalming since it is an easy way to earn a good sum of cash. Funeral directors will use a long list of excuses for you to fall under the impression that embalming is a necessary part of a burial. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has attempted to try and fix the flawed funeral industry, yet failed to do so. England approaches death in a different manner when compared to our modern approach to death in the United States. Funerals in England are not as pricey as they are in the U.S. and the customers aren’t fooled into paying more money for a greater profit. Some Americans are leaning towards an effortless funeral for their loved one(s) and this tends to frighten the funeral industry.

Quotes:
-"Bring me my porridge" - while not earth-shattering, have at least the merit of being historically accurate" (pg. 153).
-“Well, maybe the husband is trying to guy her up a bit. Perhaps he was always saying to her, ‘you should go on a diet,’ and now he is just getting even. Who knows?” (pg. 179)
-“Can You Afford to Die?” (pg. 252)

Analysis:
In our society today, the approach to caring for the dead compares in many ways to how we approach food. We are always selfish with our customers in order to gain a greater profit. We tend to fool the public by using a flawed system to present a polished industry. In the food unit flawed systems were set up throughout the United States in order to provide consumers with fruits and vegetables grown with the help of pesticides, and meat which was provided with the help of stimulating the growth of animals. To keep the public hidden from all this, they were presented in a way for them to assume as if everything was done the way it is supposed to be done. Comparatively, the U.S. approaches the care of the dead in a similar manner. People who take part of the funeral industry are after the money; they have no concerns with their customers and their emotions. They will make up any excuses they have to get the highest sum of pay possible. They use the method of embalming to earn a good amount of cash. They will offer you services which will make the funeral of your loved one(s) look “prettier” and worth spending large sums of money on. I don’t think this connects to only the Food unit; it connects with all our prior units. In each and every unit we saw that people will do anything to get what they want; in this case money.