PROGRESSIVE PRODUCER
TAKING ACTION
BIRTH TO BURGER
BLOCK CHAIN, AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, COULD ADVANCE MARKETING BEEF by Sheila Barry, University of California Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor, Bay Area Few consumers could say that they have purchased beef that was locally raised or even raised in California. The article Ranch-to-Fork: The Connection of California’s rangelands to Beef is not Direct but should be Valued, found in the October 2020 issue of the California Cattleman, explored current Bureau of Livestock Identification data, producer perceptions and ended with potential future marketing shifts. One of these potential market shifts is the emerging technology of “blockchain” that has the potential to advance marketing beef ranch-to-fork. In 2016, McDonald's accomplished an industry first by tracking and verifying that 8,967 head of Canadian cattle were produced with sustainable practices. Sustainability practices verified included maintaining well-managed grazing systems, implementing management plans to protect water and waterways, adhering to animal welfare practices and supporting local rural economies. Although it was a relatively small pilot project—the number of head tracked represented only a single day supply to McDonald’s restaurants in Canada—it demonstrated proof of concept. The metrics for sustainability were defined for the local region with input from beef producers and new data technologies supported the tracking of cattle from birth to burger. The sustainable beef tracking program continues in Canada, and with the first million pounds of beef sold, all producers in the supply chain (ranchers and feeders) have received premiums of up to $20 per head. However, additional production costs associated with participation in the program are not known. Tracking beef through the entire production system (e.g., from ranch to fork) is possible when individual animal identification is coupled with new data technologies. Blockchain, developed as a ledger for bitcoin, connects transactions with timestamps and transaction data to keep data linked. Its creation of a timedata chain allows for information like where and when an animal was born, how it was fed, what vaccines it received and where and when it was transported to be tracked with the animal. Blockchain’s tracking doesn’t need to be limited to metrics of sustainability; it can track different attributes of cattle’s care and health or grazing land stewardship that are important to producers or valued by consumers. Several other beef production projects have been working to demonstrate the ability of this technology to provide transparency and transfer 14 California Cattleman November 2020
information through beef ’s complex production systems. One project was conducted by JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce site. This project was focused on restoring consumer confidence in food safety and providing transparency about the origin of meat products. Chinese consumers lost confidence in 2008 in the safety of animal agricultural products when six babies died after they consumed milk tainted with the chemical, melamine. In May 2017, JD.com used blockchain to track meat from beef producers in Inner Mongolia to consumers in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Consumers were provided with information, such as the cow’s breed, when it was slaughtered and what pathogens it was tested for. An additional project was launched by JD.com in March 2018 when it began working with Beefledger, a blockchain company to track the production of Angusbeef sourced from farms in Australia. The blockchain data in this case is meant to provide assurance to customers that only Angus beef from Australia is sold under a specific label. Beefledger sees a growing demand for Australian-labeled beef in China because of the prevalence of labeling fraud; for every 10 kilograms of beef sold in China, 1 kilogram is not what it claims to be. It is either not from the country it claims to be from, it’s not the cut as labeled or it is not even beef, but rather duck, horse or pork. ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
