Cremation is an increasingly appealing method of disposition. In most cases, cremation is pre-chosen or prearranged. Currently in the USA , nearly 25 percent of bodies are cremated, with that figure expected to rise to 33 percent by the year 2010. 

In a couple of Eastern seaboard states (where people might be more ‘land-conscious', as opposed to the wide-open Mid West, for example), the percentage of cremation is already over 50 percent. 

Cremation is also a widely accepted practice in other parts of the world - Japan , for example, has a 98 percent rate of cremation. Cremation is considered advantageous for a number of reasons:

• It entails a cheaper funeral , especially if there's no coffin, embalming or viewing.
• It saves on interment and burial fees, and can eliminate the need for a casket and some of the more ostentatious aspects of a conventional funeral.
• It's faster and more convenient.
• It's more environmentally friendly in terms of land usage and immediacy of ‘return to nature'.
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