'Bag It' Movie to Be Shown in Exeter

Americans use 60,000 single-use plastic bags every five minutes. Single-use disposables like water bottles, coffee cups, plastic utensils and take out containers make our lives more convenient, but end up in overflowing landfills, clogged rivers, and our ocean. And when the plastics break down, they do not biodegrade - they break down into fragments that contaminate our natural resources.

"Bag It" follows everyman Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic world. Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with plastics. To see a trailer of the movie, click here.

The film will be screened for free tonight at 8 p.m. at as part of the restaurant's Food and Health Forum.

Did You Know?

• 80% of the plastic and trash that finds its way into our oceans comes from the land. Plastic debris in the ocean doesn't biodegrade. It photodegrades, meaning sunlight and water break it down to smaller and smaller pieces that are mistaken for food by fish, sea birds and marine mammals.
• More than 260 species of marine animals are affected by plastic debris in the ocean, either by ingestion or entanglement.
• There are many dangers involved with bisphenol A and phthalates, two additives commonly used in plastic. BPA makes plastic hard and phthalates make plastic soft. BPA and phthalates are two plastic additives that are known endocrine disruptors.
• Phthalates are not only used to soften plastic, but are also one of the oily substances used in cosmetics, perfumes, and many beauty products.
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 lbs. of garbage every day. That's 29 lbs. per week or 1,600 lbs. per year. The United States produces approximately 220 million tons of garbage each year. This is equivalent to burying more than 82,000 football fields six feet deep in compacted garbage. This amount of trash could fill enough trucks to form a line to the moon.

Learn more at http://www.bagitmovie.com/about_issues.html.

No need to RSVP or register The Blue Moon is located at 8 Clifford Street, Exeter, NH.

For more information:

• www.foodandhealthforum.com
• Tracey@foodandhealthforum.com