Reply #31: Yes, you're right, "toxic" is the right word for that [View All]

[muriel_volestrangler]

I notice that also says "Embalming has no roots in Christian religion and is common only in the U.S. and Canada.". Here in the UK, I've never been to a body viewing, in perhaps 10 funerals I've been to (most were cremations; one figure I've found say 70% of people are now cremated in the UK; I don't know how common viewing the body is), so I don't think of embalming.

A lot of this comes down to the traditions your family follows, it seems to me; whether religious or not, members of my family don't think there's anything special about a body (and so, for instance, I think they're all enthusiastic about organ donation). The USA does seem to go to town on funerals:

The average cost of a funeral, as of July 2004, is $6,500. That cost includes an outer burial container, but does not include cemetery costs.

http://www.nfda.org/nfdafactsheets.php

The average cost for a 'basic' funeral in the UK, including cemetery costs, in 2000 was £2,048 (and that says "Embalming is very rare- instead "hygiene" treatment of the body typically costs about £65"). From what I've heard, funeral directors in the USA arre often accused of taking advantage of relatives at a time when they won't want to question things.