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Let's Imagine Traceable Food. How Could Blockchain Technology Bring About a New Level of Ethics to the Meat Industry? by cryptofreedom

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· @cryptofreedom ·
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Let's Imagine Traceable Food. How Could Blockchain Technology Bring About a New Level of Ethics to the Meat Industry?
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<h2>The ability for customers to trace the origins of a product could bring a new level of transparency and ethics to many different types of companies.&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A great example of an industry that is in drastic need of increased transparency and ethics is the meat and poultry industry. It is common knowledge that the poultry industry is known for its lack of ethical practices, but there is really nothing consumers could do about it besides refraining from eating meat. When consumers purchase meat from the grocery store, they really have no idea of its origins. The costs of implementing a system that tracked meat or other products all the way from the producers to the consumers has always been unfeasible, but that was before the rise of blockchain technology.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The ability to track the origins of any product, especially in an industry that is known to have a high potential for unethical practices, would be a tremendous advantage for consumers. Over the last 15 years there has been a significant rise in the number of people who prioritize "clean eating", which is shown through the rise and success of retailers such as Whole Foods. The benefits for the first company that implemented this type of ledger would likely be significantly greater than the costs of implementing and running this type of system.&nbsp;Any of the existing individuals who attempt to eat healthy and had the means would definitely be willing to pay a slightly increased price for this transparency. Once the original company implemented the system, then the competition would be at a direct and clear disadvantage.</p>
<p><img src="http://community.uservoice.com/wp-content/uploads/22.jpg" width="792" height="792"/></p>
<h2>The greater transparency in an industry, the greater the motivation for firms to act ethically.&nbsp;</h2>
<p>As transparency continues to become more valued by consumers, firms will be forced to increase their transparency or be missing out on a significant share of the market.&nbsp;It would currently be very difficult for a consumer to trace the origins of meat back to the specific producer, so they have no idea if their meat originated from an ethical company or not. Since there are really no other options for individuals the discussions of the practices within the meat industry are seldom publicly discussed. The implementation of a public ledger that was accessible by both everyone would likely have a domino effect which would cause other firms to race to quickly establish their own source tracking method. This may not initially sound like something that consumer would really value, but individuals never really know what they want before it is a convenient and reasonable option.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Slaughterhouses are by nature of questionable ethics, but some practices such as over medicating are dangerous to the consumer.</h2>
<p>With the ability to trace the specific packages of meat, customers would be able to determine which slaughterhouse this meat originated in. Once the producer is determined, then it would be easy for consumers to look into the past ethics of that specific company. The meat industry has a distinct advantage over other industries in terms of the ability to act unethically, because the original slaughterhouses are not associated with any specific brand so it is often nearly impossible for the average consumer to determine which slaughterhouse the specific meat came from. After the implementation of a tracking system, slaughterhouses would have a strong incentive to improve their ethical practices. This would also give customers a much better picture of what they are actually eating.</p>
<h2>The long supply chain of meat production keeps the original producer far removed from the end product.</h2>
<p>The main reason that ethics haven't developed as quickly within the meat industry is simply because a slaughterhouse engaged in unethical practices is so far removed from the end product that consumers have no idea of the origins. Even when a slaughterhouse is found to be in violation of regulations, there sales are unlikely to be affected. There is currently no incentive for the industry to make any ethical adjustments. The incentives for the meat industry will never come from their own desires, but rather they must come from the consumers. If consumers demand the ability to track their meat purchased at the store all the way back to the producer, then the industry would be incentivised to change its behavior in the name of sales. Regardless of what causes the industry to become more transparent, the end result is really all that matters.&nbsp;</p>
<p>http://www.rsystems.com/images/RSI-Info-Pages/trus-t&amp;-transparency.png</p>
<h2>Let's imagine the future of "Traceable Food".</h2>
<p>There are clear and obvious advantages of implementing a system of tracking food, but what could that system evolve into? Let's imagine that instead of simply associating a specific lot of meat with a specific slaughterhouse, a system had the ability to be so specific that it was able to associate a specific cut of meat directly with the animal that it came from. The rapid advancements that have been recently made with DNA sequencing mean that a system like this would likely be completely possible sooner than many would imagine. A small amount of blood would be analyzed from each cow and stored on the blockchain, so when it came to packaging the meat another small blood sample would be taken and then associated with the original animal on the blockchain. Currently this type of system would be greatly beyond the practical means of the industry, but as the technology continues to rapidly advance this type of system becomes more possible and practical.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Why would consumers continue to blindly trust producers if the truth was public on the blockchain?</h2>
<p>The ability for consumers to track the origins of their food may seem a bit creepy right now, but it would have tremendously positive long term benefits. The only way to make an industry such as the meat industry evolve is to make acting ethically necessary to their business model. Companies will not prioritize ethical practices and behavior unless the consumers' absolutely demand it. The increased transparency could also overlapped into other industries that transparency is vastly needed, such as the sourcing of diamonds and the diamond industry.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>http://www.yaronhadad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Future_of_Food.jpg</h3>
<h2>I really hope that you enjoyed this post, and I urge any comments to be left below. This is just another example of how blockchain technology will help improve an industry that greatly needs improvement. Thanks for reading!</h2>
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<p>image sources:<a href="http://community.uservoice.com/wp-content/uploads/22.jpg">1</a>-<a href="http://www.rsystems.com/images/RSI-Info-Pages/trus-t&amp;-transparency.png">2</a>-<a href="http://www.yaronhadad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Future_of_Food.jpg">3</a></p>
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@kyle.anderson ·
Great writeup,
I think blockchain tech is going to do much much more than just change the meat industry. Everything involving exchange of value or goods has the potential to be revolutionized. Take the textile market for example, prime blockchain environment.
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@cryptofreedom ·
I definitely agree with you. I can't think of any market or industry that would not receive direct or indirect advantage after the deployment of blockchain technology.  I chose to focus on the meat industry in this post because it is an industry known for its bad behavior, and still has no incentive to change. Blockchain could revolutionize everything from textiles to diamonds to intellectual property.
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@shadowspub ·
http://i.imgur.com/SsfejKK.jpg
Hi @cryptofreedom, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. [You can read what I wrote about your post here.](https://steemit.com/curation/@shadowspub/feb-4-steemit-ramble-66-don-t-you-hate-missing-good-posts)
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