WWF announces new blockchain platform to track sustainability of food

WWF, in partnership with BCG Digital Ventures, has announced a new blockchain platform to help people track how sustainable their food is.

The OpenSC uses cutting edge technology to track individual products from origin to consumer. The aim is to help businesses and consumers avoid illegal, environmentally damaging or unethical products.

The initiative enables businesses to track their products by adding a unique blockchain code at the product’s point of origin, for example fish or beef. Blockchain technology is a digital, tamper-proof record of information that is accessible to everyone, it can be used to track products as they move through the supply chain.

This technology will allow consumers to discover the full history of a product using their smartphone to scan the product’s QR code.

WWF say that when a fish is caught at sea, it will be given an RFID tag. Machine learning and GPS location is then used to verify that the fish was caught in a legal area. When filleted, the RFID tag is converted to a unique QR code for each piece of fish. This will allow consumers around the world to track how sustainable their fish is.

Dermot O’Gorman, CEO of WWF-Australia, said: “Through OpenSC, we will have a whole new level of transparency about whether the food we eat is contributing to environmental degradation of habitats and species, as well as social injustice and human rights issues such as slavery. OpenSC will revolutionise how we all buy food and other products as well, enabling more informed decision making by consumers, businesses, governments, and industry bodies.”

WWF noted that as a transparency platform, OpenSC will enable more responsible and ethical consumption, so that businesses and consumers alike can vary, trace and share data on the sustainability of their products.

Learn more about OpenSC here.

Photograph: Greenpeace