Decentralized Tracability For Food
By removing anonymity in food supply chains, blockchain technology can support a safer, smarter, and more sustainable food supply. The cost of adopting blockchain technology will no doubt be passed along to the consumer, and therefore awareness of blockchain’s benefits must be made available to ensure consumer buy-in. Fortunately, such buy-in might be easier to obtain than might be thought. Scholars such as Sam Goundar and Abderahman Rejeb have found overwhelming support at least by other scholars for introducing blockchain technology in food supply chains.
Yet it is unlikely that governments will have the capacity to mandate the use of blockchain because even the minimum economic impacts of such a mandate on small- to medium-sized business would be damaging.
Many available technological solutions appear to be producer or industry-led, rather than government-led. Some industry advocates advance a strong corporate social responsibility argument that, without implementing decentralized traceability solutions, a company’s product or brand could suffer.
Policing the implementation and use of any mandated technologies could also be challenging, and thus any government’s incentive to mandate blockchain’s use could be fraught.
Still, trading nations should look to harmonize common food names and food-related illegal activities to support better food fraud enforcement. Communication about effective, decentralized traceability technologies can promote consumer trust in brands.
Blockchain has the potential to transcend borders and regulations by empowering producers and consumers to legitimize supply chains—removing the need for countless intermediaries who may facilitate food fraud or other crimes such as corruption and document fraud.
https://www.theregreview.org/2020/12/28/lindley-graycar-regulating-food-supply-chain-blockchain/
