So I'm here to explain why I'm wearing these ninja pajamas. And to do that, I'd like to talk first about environmental toxins in our bodies. So some of you may know about the chemical Bisphenol A, BPA. It's a material hardener and synthetic estrogen that's found in the lining of canned foods and some plastics. So BPA mimics the body's own hormones and causes neurological and reproductive problems. And it's everywhere. A recent study found BPA in 93 percent of people six and older. But it's just one chemical. The Center for Disease Control in the U.S. says we have 219 toxic pollutants in our bodies, and this includes preservatives, pesticides and heavy metals like lead and mercury.
Ovde sam da objasnim zašto nosim ovu nindža pidžamu. Da bih to uradila, prvo bih volela da govorim o toksinima životne sredine koji se nalaze u našim telima. Neki od vas možda znaju za hemikaliju Bisfenol A, BPA. Koristi se za stvrdnjavanje materijala i kao sintetički estrogen koji možemo naći kao oblogu konzervirane hrane i u nekim plastičnim materijalima. Dakle, BPA imitira telesne hormone i uzrokuje neurološke i reproduktivne probleme. A nalazi se svuda. Skorašnja studija je pokazala prisustvo BPA u 93 odsto ljudi starih šest ili više godina. Međutim, to je samo jedna hemikalija. Centar za Kontrolu bolesti Sjedinjenih Država kaže da u našim telima imamo 219 toksičnih zagađivača, a ovde su uključeni konzervansi, pesticidi i teški metali kao olovo i živa.
To me, this says three things. First, don't become a cannibal. Second, we are both responsible for and the victims of our own pollution. And third, our bodies are filters and storehouses for environmental toxins. So what happens to all these toxins when we die? The short answer is: They return to the environment in one way or another, continuing the cycle of toxicity. But our current funeral practices make the situation much worse. If you're cremated, all those toxins I mentioned are released into the atmosphere. And this includes 5,000 pounds of mercury from our dental fillings alone every year.
Po mom mišljenju, ovo nam govori tri stvari. Prvo, nemojte postati kanibal. Drugo, mi smo odgovorni, ali smo i žrtve našeg sopstvenog zagađenja. I treće, naša tela su filteri ali i magacini toksina iz okruženja. Pa, šta se dešava sa svim ovim toksinima kada umremo? Kratak odgovor glasi: Vraćaju se u životnu sredinu na jedan ili drugi način, nastavljajući kruženje toksina. Međutim, naša sadašnja praksa sahranjivanja čini situaciju još gorom. Ako ste kremirani, svi toksini koje sam pomenula se oslobođaju u atmosferu. Ovo uključuje i 2.267 kilograma žive godišnje samo iz naših plombi.
And in a traditional American funeral, a dead body is covered with fillers and cosmetics to make it look alive. It's then pumped with toxic formaldehyde to slow decomposition -- a practice which causes respiratory problems and cancer in funeral personnel. So by trying to preserve our dead bodies, we deny death, poison the living and further harm the environment. Green or natural burials, which don't use embalming, are a step in the right direction, but they don't address the existing toxins in our bodies. I think there's a better solution.
Na tradicionalnoj američkoj sahrani mrtvo telo se prekriva umecima i šminkom koje ga čine naizgled živim. Onda je napunjeno toksičnim formaldehidom da bi se raspadanje usporilo -- ova praksa uzrokuje respiratorne probleme i rak kod pogrebnika. Dakle, pokušavajući da očuvamo naša mrtva tela mi poričemo smrt, trujemo žive i dalje oštećujemo okruženje. Zelene ili prirodne sahrane, koje ne uključuju balsamovanje, su korak u dobrom pravcu, ali one ne rešavaju problem toksina koji su već u našim telima. Ja smatram da postoji bolje rešenje.
I'm an artist, so I'd like to offer a modest proposal at the intersection of art, science and culture. The Infinity Burial Project, an alternative burial system that uses mushrooms to decompose and clean toxins in bodies. The Infinity Burial Project began a few years ago with a fantasy to create the Infinity Mushroom -- a new hybrid mushroom that would decompose bodies, clean the toxins and deliver nutrients to plant roots, leaving clean compost. But I learned it's nearly impossible to create a new hybrid mushroom. I also learned that some of our tastiest mushrooms can clean environmental toxins in soil. So I thought maybe I could train an army of toxin-cleaning edible mushrooms to eat my body.
Ja sam umetnica, pa bih želela da iznesem jednu skromnu ponudu na granici između umetnosti, nauke i kulture. Projekat Pogreba Beskrajnosti je alternativni način sahranjivanja koji koristi pečurke da razloži i očisti toksine u našim telima. Projekat Pogreba Beskrajnosti započet je pre nekoliko godina sa snom o stvaranju Pečurke Beskrajnosti -- novog hibrida pečurke koji bi razložio tela, očistio toksine i dostavio hranljive materije korenju biljaka, ostavljajući za sobom čist kompost. Međutim, naučila sam da je gotovo nemoguće stvoriti novi hibrid pečurke. Takođe sam naučila da neke od naših najukusnijih pečuraka mogu da očiste toksine u zemljištu. Pomislila sam da mogu da naučim armiju jestivih pečuraka koje uklanjaju toksine da pojedu moje telo.
So today, I'm collecting what I shed or slough off -- my hair, skin and nails -- and I'm feeding these to edible mushrooms. As the mushrooms grow, I pick the best feeders to become Infinity Mushrooms. It's a kind of imprinting and selective breeding process for the afterlife. So when I die, the Infinity Mushrooms will recognize my body and be able to eat it. All right, so for some of you, this may be really, really out there. (Laughter) Just a little.
Danas, onime što odsečem ili uklonim -- mojom kosom, kožom i noktima -- hranim ove jestive pečurke. Kako pečurke rastu, biram one koje su najbolje da postanu Pečurke Beskrajnosti. To je vrsta utiskivanja i selektivne reprodukcije za život posle smrti. Kada preminem Pečurke Beskrajnosti će prepoznati moje telo i moći će da ga pojedu. Dobro, nekima od vas se može činiti da ovo ide u krajnost. (Smeh) Samo malo.
I realize this is not the kind of relationship that we usually aspire to have with our food. We want to eat, not be eaten by, our food. But as I watch the mushrooms grow and digest my body, I imagine the Infinity Mushroom as a symbol of a new way of thinking about death and the relationship between my body and the environment. See for me, cultivating the Infinity Mushroom is more than just scientific experimentation or gardening or raising a pet, it's a step towards accepting the fact that someday I will die and decay. It's also a step towards taking responsibility for my own burden on the planet.
Shvatam da ovo nije uobičajena vrsta veze koju žudimo da imamo sa našom hranom. Želimo da jedemo našu hranu, ne da ona jede nas. Međutim, dok gledam kako pečurke rastu i vare moje telo, zamišljam Pečurku Beskrajnosti kao simbol novog načina razmišljanja o smrti i kao vezu između mog tela i životne sredine. Vidite, za mene uzgajanje Pečurke Beskonačnosti predstavlja više od običnog naučnog eksperimentisanja ili baštovanstva ili uzgajanja kućnog ljubimca, to je korak ka prihvatanju činjenice da ću jednog dana preminuti i istruliti. To je takođe korak ka prihvatanju odgovornosti za moje breme na planeti.
Growing a mushroom is also part of a larger practice of cultivating decomposing organisms called decompiculture, a concept that was developed by an entomologist, Timothy Myles. The Infinity Mushroom is a subset of decompiculture I'm calling body decompiculture and toxin remediation -- the cultivation of organisms that decompose and clean toxins in bodies.
Uzgoj pečurke je takođe deo šire prakse uzgajanja razlažućih organizama, nazvana dekompokultura. Taj koncept razvio je jedan entomolog, Timoti Majls. Pečurka Beskrajnosti je pod-disciplina dekompokulture koju ja nazivam dekompikulturom tela i remedijacijom toksina-- uzgoj organizama koji razlažu i čiste toksine iz naših tela.
And now about these ninja pajamas. Once it's completed, I plan to integrate the Infinity Mushrooms into a number of objects. First, a burial suit infused with mushroom spores, the Mushroom Death Suit. (Laughter) I'm wearing the second prototype of this burial suit. It's covered with a crocheted netting that is embedded with mushroom spores. The dendritic pattern you see mimics the growth of mushroom mycelia, which are the equivalent of plant roots.
A sada o ovim nindža pidžamama. Jednom kada bude završena, planiram da integrišem Pečurku Baskrajnosti u brojne objekte. Prvo, pogrebno odelo u koje su ubrizgane spore pečuraka, Pogrebno Odelo Pečuraka. (Smeh) Trenutno nosim drugi prototip ovog pogrebnog odela. Pokriven je isheklanom mrežom u koju su utkane spore pečuraka. Dendritski šablon koji vidite imitira rast micelijuma pečurke koji su ekvivalenti korenja biljaka.
I'm also making a decompiculture kit, a cocktail of capsules that contain Infinity Mushroom spores and other elements that speed decomposition and toxin remediation. These capsules are embedded in a nutrient-rich jelly, a kind of second skin, which dissolves quickly and becomes baby food for the growing mushrooms. So I plan to finish the mushroom and decompiculture kit in the next year or two, and then I'd like to begin testing them, first with expired meat from the market and then with human subjects. And believe it or not, a few people have offered to donate their bodies to the project to be eaten by mushrooms.
Takođe radim na razvoju kompleta za dekompokulturu, koktelu kapsula koje sadrže Pečurku Beskrajnosti i druge elemente koji ubrzavaju raspadanje i remedijaciju toksina. Ove kapsule su uronjene u gel koji je bogat hranljivim materijama, u neku vrstu zamenske kože, koja se brzo rastvara i postaje kašica za rastuće pečurke. Planiram da završim pečurku i komplet za dekompokulturu u toku naredne dve godine, a onda bih volela da počnem da ih testiram, prvo sa mesom iz prodavnice čiji je rok trajanja istekao, a kasnije i sa ljudskim subjektima. Verovali ili ne, nekoliko ljudi je već ponudilo da donira svoja tela za ovaj projekat da bi ih pojele pečurke.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
What I've learned from talking to these folks is that we share a common desire to understand and accept death and to minimize the impact of our death on the environment. I wanted to cultivate this perspective just like the mushrooms, so I formed the Decompiculture Society, a group of people called decompinauts who actively explore their postmortem options, seek death acceptance and cultivate decomposing organisms like the Infinity Mushroom. The Decompiculture Society shares a vision of a cultural shift, from our current culture of death denial and body preservation to one of decompiculture, a radical acceptance of death and decomposition.
Ono što sam naučila pričajući sa ovim ljudima jeste da svi delimo želju da razumemo i prihvatimo smrt i umanjimo uticaj naše smrti na životno okružanje. Želela sam da uzgojim ovu perspektivu baš kao i pečurke, tako da sam osnovala Društvo Dekompokulture, grupu ljudi nazvanu dekomponauti koji aktivno istražuju svoje posmrtne opcije, tragaju za prihvatanjem smrti i uzgajaju razlažuće organizme kao što je Pečurka Beskrajnosti. Društvo Dekompokulture deli viziju kulturološkog preokreta, iz naše sadašnje kulture poricanje smrti i očuvanja tela u kulturu koja podržava dekompokulturu, korenito prihvatanje smrti i raspadanja.
Accepting death means accepting that we are physical beings who are intimately connected to the environment, as the research on environmental toxins confirms. And the saying goes, we came from dust and will return to dust. And once we understand that we're connected to the environment, we see that the survival of our species depends on the survival of the planet. I believe this is the beginning of true environmental responsibility.
Prihvatanje smrti znači da prihvatamo činjenicu da smo fizička bića, koja su na intiman način povezana sa okruženjem, kao što i istraživanje o toksinima u životnoj sredini pokazuje. Kao što izreka kaže, iz zemlje smo potekli i u zemlju se vraćamo. Jednom kada razumemo da smo povezani sa okruženjem, vidimo da opstanak naših vrsta zavisi od opstanka planete. Verujem da je ovo početak iskonske odgovornosti za okruženje.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)