Filmmaker and Former Groundskeeper Who Sued Monsanto and Won To Premiere Film “Ground War”

The new documentary film “Ground War,” presented by Beyond Pesticides, will have its New York City premiere screening on Saturday, April 6, 2019, 7:30pm at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, New York, NY. The film is a moving depiction of a son’s quest for answers about his father’s cancer—which takes him into the world of doctors, scientists, pesticide regulators, victims of pesticide poisoning, activists, and land managers. The issue is exposure to pesticides used to manage lawns and playing fields and the father’s exposure as an avid golfer. The son, who is the filmmaker, finds others on the same search for answers because of harm or death of a loved one, then finds a solution in the work of activists and organic land managers.

The film is particularly timely with public controversy about the use of the weed killer glyphosate (Roundup) and two lawsuits with multimillion dollar jury verdicts since August for compensation and punitive damages against its manufacturer, Monsanto (Bayer)—while thousands of lawsuits are pending. All of this widespread pesticide exposure is taking place in the face of inaction by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and headlines pointing to officials sidestepping the law. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Andrew Nisker, and the former applicator of Roundup, groundskeeper Dewayne “Lee” Johnson—terminally ill from non Hodgkin lymphoma, but committed to speaking out.

Pesticide use is being hotly debated in New York City and across the country as the New York City Council considers legislation to stop all toxic pesticide use in city parks and public spaces.

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