December 19, 2025
Fair warning. If discussions about burials and so forth upsets you, this isn’t going to be your thing. You are forgiven for not reading any further. Ditto if Martha Stewart upsets you.
Martha Stewart and Her Horses
And now we have…Martha Stewart. Over the decades, I’ve watched her morph and now, the morphing isn’t particularly germane to the proper way to dress a chicken, French bistro style. I’ve always enjoyed her work. It always kind of made me feel like I wanted to go home to Connecticut for Christmas. Only thing…I never lived in CT. I admired the passion she brought to the simple idea that entertaining in your home was/is a great thing and worth the effort. And then, she made a lot of money at it and became famous…that’s all good.
But in an interview last week, she disclosed that…well, you’d think I was making it up so here’s the summation:
“Martha Stewart revealed on the “50+ & Unfiltered” podcast that she plans to be “composted” when she dies, rejecting traditional burial or cremation. The 84-year-old explained she wants to be buried on her 150-acre New York farm the same way she buries her horses…wrapped in white linen and placed in a deep grave in one of her fields where she maintains a pet cemetery.”
OK, I mean, that’s a good one. Can you imagine the conversation between the potential new buyers and the real estate agent?”
Agent: And then we have the pet cemetery and Martha.
Buyer: Hunh?
Agent: Not to worry, we’re in court getting permission to move everything. And we’ll discount the price if we can’t…
Buyer: Hunh? Move exactly what? What everything?
Agent: You didn’t know? Buried right by those oak trees over there…
Buyer: What!!!!
Agent: Nice spot I have to say. She always had good taste.
To be clear, I think people are entitled to dictate their remains in any way they’d like, as long as they don’t offend public sensibilities. I may want to be embalmed and displayed in a glass case on the front lawn of my house, but I think you get my meaning.
Anyway, I’m OK with her idea, if that’s what she wants. None of my business really except for the opportunity for humor. I’d also make the comment that once you go public with that kind of thing, you’re really making it everyone’s business.
But there is a practical problem with Terramation (that’s what it’s called…it’s a thing…human composting). While it’s legal in New York where her farm is located, there aren’t yet any facilities to perform the process properly, and the regulations ban embalmed remains and require processing in specialized above-ground containers with proper materials and conditions. Her informal approach of simply burying herself like her horses wouldn’t meet the legal requirements. Her response:
“When asked about the legality, Stewart was dismissive of such concerns, stating it wouldn’t hurt anyone and it’s her property.” Times Union
I recall many years ago how she got herself all twisted up in an insider trading case and actually spent time behind bars for some related crimes attached to it. I find it instructive that just as she ignored those rules many years ago, she seems to be trundling down the same path again. There is a certain…whiff of entitlement in the air? But I’m also thinking…why do you share your horse-similar burial with the world? What is in your mind when you do it?
MS Agent: We’re kind of at a loss for the interview next week. We already did the Beans and Franks Casserole on Thursday…
MS: What about my Patrician Taco Flan?
Agent: Ah, no, doesn’t have the right feel to it?
MS: (tapping pencil against her lower lip in contemplation)
Agent: What about doing a Julia Child send up?
MS: I refuse to do that voice. It always grated on me.
Agent: Get a retro dress…do it up…fun!
MS: (stares intently and silently at him)
Agent: OK OK. How about Cacio e Pepe?
MS: This isn’t Rhode Island. This is Connecticut or is it New York?
Agent: staring at ceiling, snapping teeth together)
MS: I got it! I got it! This will be great!
Later on, Agent to Network: “Look, I’m not in favor of it either, but she’s got the bit in her teeth so to speak and she loves her horses, so you got to make a decision here…”
There are so many avenues for mirth, one does not know where to start. Problem is, it goes to the morbid or disrespectful in a flash. For example:
“Yeah, we’re going. We’re bringing some sugar cubes, a couple of apples and three carrots to toss in.”
Well, I wondered about the math and all of that. Maybe there’s an investment angle?
Human composting is legal in fourteen U.S. states (Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Arizona, New Jersey, and Georgia), with more than 124 million residents (37% of the U.S. population) living in areas where it’s legal.
The practice is still relatively new. Only seven states had legalized it as of early 2024 and Recompose, the first commercial facility, only opened in 2021. About 29% of bodies brought to Recompose come from out of state, showing that people are willing to travel for this option. I wonder…once you’ve prepared grandpa, do you then toss him into the KIA Telluride and drive him back home to bury him next to the patio near the grill? The process typically costs $2,500-$7,000, positioning it between cremation and traditional burial in price.
For me, this is problematic. The only pets we have are our koi in the pond in North Carolina. I checked in with them during a recent tequila bender, and they all assured me they didn’t want to be buried in the yard, so that’s out. I thought, well, skip the pets, how about just me? But I checked and our POA in Florida put the kybosh on the idea. Actually, the agent said, “Ew, that’s gross!”
It’s a dead end, planning wise (excellent metaphor there, the dead-end thing).
I got an invitation last month inviting us to go to a luncheon to learn all about cremation. I’m not kidding. This is Florida, that’s a growth industry. I asked Michael what she thought and she said, “Just think for a minute. What are you going to order for lunch? A smashburger well done?” We didn’t go.
I confess this has all left me more confused than educated. I’m like you…I’m all for a green Earth and not screwing up the environment. So, I get the attraction, at least from an environmental perspective. Problem I see is that I know people whose living personalities pretty much guarantee they would poison the earth, not enhance it.
I mean…what kind of application form would we need?
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
