Wildsight Kimberley Cranbrook has the answer for those who enjoy the excitement and wonder of the Banff Film Fest, but also feel like they need an environmental film fix.

The local environmental group will be hosting ‘Into the Weeds’ by donation on January 11 starting at 7 p.m. at Centre 64 in Kimberley.

The powerful story looks at the lasting effects of glyphosate – a common herbicide used in weed control.

‘Into the Weeds: Dewayne “Lee” Johnson vs. Monsanto Company’ follows the story of groundskeeper Lee Johnson and his fight for justice against agri-chemical giant Monsanto (now Bayer), the manufacturer of the weed killer, Roundup.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

A year later, Lee Johnson filed a lawsuit claiming that a commercial-grade variant of Roundup, was a substantial contributing factor in causing his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

As the film team toggles back and forth between the detail and scale of this ubiquitous product’s impact, it becomes clear that the Johnson verdict will have global repercussions. By telling Johnson’s story, Into the Weeds ultimately considers whether this kind of David vs. Goliath fight is capable of instigating lasting and substantial change.

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