If you happen to be sitting down to lunch with a copy of the Missouri Revised Statutes, you might want to skip over section 333 – especially if lawmakers enact a small change in the definition of embalming.

The change would add some choice wording to what is currently a pretty vanilla definition. The definition would be expanded to underscore that embalming includes “the chemical preparation of a dead human body for disposition.”

It gets better.

The definition would further state: “Practice of embalming includes all activities leading up to and including arterial and cavity embalming, including but not limited to raising of vessels and suturing of incisions.”

Rep. Curt Dougherty, D-Independence, discussed the change during a House committee hearing on Monday. He said the expanded definition is necessary so that it would mirror that of other states.

For lunchtime reading, it might be better to stick with a section such as, oh, 137. (Property tax collection) It helps the chicken fried steak go down easier.