Wired: Blockchain Follows Tuna From Fiji to Brooklyn

Blockchain technology provides tools who want to understand how their food or other products are sourced. Writing for Wired, Louise Matsakis describes tracking a yellowfin tuna from its catch in Fiji to the landing dock, processing facility and transport on to Brooklyn – with Ethereum blockchain by startup Viant. “A plethora of startups—as well as major companies like IBM and Walmart – are betting that the tech will change the way goods travel around the world,” she writes. “A blockchain is essentially a distributed chain of data entries that everyone can view and that can't be easily altered.” Blockchain can provide related services, including cameras and sensors, besides tracking of geographic location, and such systems could allow for what are known as “smart contracts” to ensure that suppliers and transporters meet certain conditions. Blockchains require complete cooperation of all parties. Standardization would be required for widespread use among various corporations and countries, and loopholes won’t eliminate all fraud or mistakes, warns Matsakis, as the technology is still in its infancy. – YaleGlobal