Did You Know People Are Getting Buried in Mushrooms?

When you think “mushroom,” your brain probably jumps to risotto, pizza toppings, or maybe that funky truffle pasta you splurged on once. What you probably don’t think of? Caskets. Yep—mushrooms have officially crossed over from dinner plate to graveyard.

Photo From: Loop Biotech

Loop Biotech, a Netherlands-based startup that decided fungi weren’t just for foodies—they’re for funerals too. The company is growing biodegradable caskets made from mycelium, aka the root system of mushrooms, and the whole idea is as wild (and oddly comforting) as it sounds.

Here’s how it works:

• Instead of chopping down trees for wood, Loop “grows” caskets in just seven days by filling a casket-shaped mold with living fungal fibers.

• The result looks less like a coffin and more like something you’d expect to find in an alien movie—a soft off-white pod lined with moss, wool, cotton, or hemp. Think earthy, cozy… and a little spooky chic.

• When someone is buried in one of these, the fungi speed up the natural decomposition process, letting microbes, roots, and soil do their thing. Instead of hanging around underground for decades, the casket is gone in 45 days, and the body returns to the earth in about two to three years.

  
  

Photo From: Loop Biotech

Compare that to traditional burials: wood coffins can take a lifetime tree to produce, they’re pumped with embalming chemicals, and they keep bodies intact for 10–30 years (which, honestly, sounds like nature’s version of food storage). Oh, and the carbon footprint? A classic casket buries around 250 pounds of carbon emissions with you—like driving your car for three months straight. The mushroom version? Just 25 pounds. Cremation is even worse, clocking in at up to 534 pounds of CO₂.

Loop’s co-founder Bob Hendrikx put it best: “Traditional caskets are designed to prevent decay, which doesn’t make sense because the body wants to decay," according to The Wall Street Journal. Translation: fungi are basically Mother Nature’s clean-up crew—and they’re faster, gentler, and way more eco-friendly at the job.

Of course, this kind of green afterlife doesn’t come cheap. One mushroom casket will set you back about $4,000. But thousands of people have already signed on, proving that sustainable burials are more than just a niche trend.

So, the next time you slice into a portobello or drizzle truffle oil, remember: mushrooms aren’t just changing what’s on your plate. They’re changing what happens after your last supper, too.

If you’re curious about how mushroom caskets actually work (and why they might be the greenest send-off yet), [click here].