Taylor Carlson, a grade 10 student from Elm Creek School, recently returned from an agriculture-based trip to Des Moines, Iowa.

She was interviewed and selected to participate in the Global Youth Institute (GYI) hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation on Oct. 19, 20 and 21.

Manitoba 4-H and Agriculture In The Classroom sponsors students each year to attend the 3 day event.

This year 4 students from across Canada were selected. The application process included an interview in front of a panel of three judges, one representative from 4-H and two from Ag In The Classroom.

Carlson was accompanied by her mother, Lisa Carlson, and joined 200 other students from around the world to discuss global food security. Students were able to connect with others and discuss those challenges.

"Every student that goes to GYI writes a 5-page research paper on an agricultural problem in a third world country of their choice, so I did raising cattle in Brazil," said Carlson. "I focused my paper on fertility issues and deforestation."

The Oxfam Hunger Banquet is also part of the 3-day event. Students get grouped into different socioeconomic classes to open their eyes to world hunger. In the past,

Carlson eating rice and beans at the Oxfam Hunger Banquetstudents grouped in a lower-class shared a bowl of rice and sat on the floor, while higher-class groups ate steak and sat at a table.

"You pull the card and you were either poor, middle class or upper class," said Carlson. Her middle-class group was allowed to sit on chair but didn't have a table. They ate rice and beans.

"My mom was actually in the poor class so she was sitting on the floor and they had a bowl of rice that they had to share," she added.

"We had one large bowl of rice between 125 people and no plates or utensils," said Carlson's mother. "The comments that arose from the discussion afterward were profound, showing what the students took away from the event."

(left to right) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Taylor Carlson, and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn who is President of the World Food Prize FoundationCarlson also met Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, this year's World Food Prize winner. Carlson's mother explained that he rose from a poverty-stricken home and became the national head of agriculture in Nigeria. He has saved millions from dying of starvation, due to the use of cell phones and electronic vouchers to get food and money into the hands of small farmers in Africa.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is also the President of the African Development Bank.

When looking into the future, Carlson said she is very interested in a career in agriculture, noting she would like to one day run her family's farm.