FILM: “Bag It – Is your life too plastic?”
Published: November 11, 2014

“Bag It – Is your life too plastic” explores the environmental and health effects of our disposable plastic society. http://www.bagitmovie.com/index.html
Film Screening hosted by Osage Group of the Sierra Club and Missouri River Relief
Original Screening – Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at RagTag Cinema in Columbia, MO
Followed by panel conversation featuring
- Dr. Frederick Vom Saal, the UM professor that discovered the estrogen mimicking properties in some plastic additives.
- Jan Dye – Osage Group of the Sierra Club – submitted a proposal to Columbia City Council to limit retail plastic bag use in Columbia
- Members of Missouri River Relief – discussing our experience with plastic trash on the Missouri River, and where it all ends up.
“Bag It” follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health.
The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas.
The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to link to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility.
The screening at RagTag Cinema is part of a local charge to pass an ordinance limiting the use of single-use plastic bags. Many cities including Washington DC, Chicago, and now the whole state of California, as well as Ireland, Italy and China have already implemented similar policies to curb their plastic use.
Osage Group and Missouri River Relief recognizes the importance of reducing single-use plastics for the safety of our community and environment, and hope you will join with us in viewing this important film.
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Thank you to Osage Group of the Sierra Club for hosting this film screening, and to Ragtag Cinema for donating the venue!
Resources and Links
Dig deeper into this month’s topic.
- Osage Group Sierra Club Events
- Missouri River Relief website
- This event on Facebook – share with friends!
- “Bag It” website
- “Bag It” trailer
- Dig deeper into the effects of plastic on our environment and health at “Plastic Soup News”, a blog archive maintained by Missouri River Relief’s Melanie Cheney.
- “Plastic Bag Wars” – a brief look into the history of plastic bags and bag bans. Published in the Boston Globe (here republished in Plastic Soup News)
- “Movement to ban plastic bags gains steam” – guest commentary by Jill Richardson in Columbia Missourian, Sept. 22, 2014
- “Plastic Ocean – How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans” – a book by Captain Charles Moore, who discovered and began studying the collection of plastic in the North Pacific Gyre.
- “Missouri River Trash Trap Blues” – a short video of Missouri River Relief volunteers cleaning up a plastic “Trash Trap” on the Missouri River downstream of Kansas City.
The Big Muddy Speaker Series in Rocheport
is hosted by these wonderful partners.
- Missouri River Relief
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (USFWS)
- Les Bourgeois Vineyards
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
Click here for a list of upcoming presentations»
Special thanks to Les Bourgeois Vineyards for giving us the opportunity to use their beautiful space overlooking the Missouri River. All speakers are presenting for free! Thank you all for sharing your knowledge with us!
The Big Muddy Speaker Series also takes place monthly in Kansas City and St. Charles.
The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.