Blockchain technology has many benefits, including accountability and transparency. It will be a great injustice to its potential if it is only being used in one business sector. It is not surprising that it isn’t only the technology industries that are benefiting from it.
Even now, a more significant percentage of the food industry is beginning to see how it can tap from the many blessings the blockchain brings. The number increases every day, and it is projected that virtually every sector of human activity will adopt blockchain in the future.
What is Blockchain Technology and How Does It Relate to the Food Industry?
Blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed ledger in which all cryptocurrency transactions are recorded. Information on the Blockchain is entered in blocks, and when connected, they make up a chain. Security in the Blockchain is tight, and altering information entered may be near impossible.
To make any correction on the Blockchain, previous information entered has to be altered. One could very well say it is the most secure system on the planet. However, beyond security, the Blockchain also ensures transparency, which is one of its many benefits to the food industry.
Blockchain technology is an open network that gives its users (manufacturer, retailer, or consumer) unrestricted access to data records. Each person has a copy of the records. With their copies, they can manage their chain. So, if there is a breach in the security of a node or chain, it is quickly detected.
Bitcoin and blockchain are often used interchangeably, but they are different. Blockchain is the technology Bitcoin is found on. Many other cryptocurrencies are using blockchain too, for example, Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, etc. Every year the cryptocurrency market value is growing with people starting to buy XRP, Bitcoin, Cardano more.
Why Is Blockchain Useful in the Food Industry?
The Blockchain and the food system are alike in that both are a set of linked chains. This is one of the pointers to the potential advantage the Blockchain can give to the food industry.
One of Blockchain’s purposes is to handle a chain of actions and resulting transactions. The Blockchain is secure, but that is not a guarantee that there won’t be issues. However, it is a major source of efficiency for the food industry, from manufacturing to the consumption of food items.
Traders can also generate more income and account for every transaction carried out by entering the details of such transactions on the Blockchain.
How Blockchain Will Benefit the Food Industry
The cryptocurrency market and blockchain technology can benefit the food industry in a lot of ways. However, the most notable of these ways include:
- Acceptance and use of cryptocurrency in the system can effectively bring a turnaround to the way businesses are handled. Traders – subsistence and commercial – can make money in the process.
- Blockchain technology has cryptographic security that provides the easy exchange of contracts. This way, payments can be monitored and tracked.
- Many food companies are already in the cryptocurrency market. They have adopted cryptocurrencies as payment methods, among other things. The alcohol and beverage industries especially are leading the way. Several agro-related startups have also started integrating crypto payments on their platforms and validating transactions on blockchain.
- The food industry is large, and management can become cumbersome. Such a large industry needs a fully-automated and effective technology like blockchain technology. China, for instance, is relying on blockchain technology to strengthen the quality of food and drugs in the country.
- It can help the industry in managing food safety issues via its transparency. With blockchain, there will be a lower occurrence of fraud that has characterized the food industry for many years.
- Implementation of blockchain technology in the food industry will amplify and simplify the payment process. Since cryptocurrency exchange is carried out without third-party agents like the bank, there is more value and sales for farmers. Farmers can also now make their food products available to a global audience.
Food Companies That Use Blockchain
Many food companies have already incorporated cryptocurrency exchange into their way of doing business, and some of them include:
- Walmart, a world-renown supermarket;
- Nestle, a popular beverage company;
- Bumble Bee Foods, an American company that sells canned salmon, chicken, tuna, and other seafood;
- Plantaza, a wine company;
- JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company that deals in beef;
- Carrefour, a French company that has adopted blockchain technology to track its chickens, cheese, eggs, milk, salmon, and tomatoes.
The future of blockchain technology in the food industry is one to look forward to. Soon enough, companies, small and big, will see and take advantage of its many benefits. The easy traceability, transparency, quick payment process, and security will draw more food companies to its light.
