CASHLESS FUTURE 2018
Age of Blockchain
31/10/2018

Turkeys in chains 

Blockchain is difficult for the general public to understand and is extremely complicated to explain. Missionaries of the blockchain revolution generally say that it is a modern on-line database, similar to an accounting ledger, which cannot be falsified. The response of the lay audience is generally, “So what?” Blockchain enthusiasts refuse to be discouraged and elaborate by saying that these are technologies that form the basis of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. This soon brings the debate to a conclusion and listeners, many of whom still do not know what is behind this chain of virtual information and data, quietly go on their way.

The problem lies with the missionaries. They have forgotten their basic lessons in didactics. Do not explain, just demonstrate. Instead of words, give a visual example. When even the most complicated problem can be associated with food, the pathway to a successful explanation is far easier. Try to solve a complex problem on an empty stomach. This is what we all learned last year at Cargill, the American food and agrarian concern.

Instead of an abstract explanation of the uses made of blockchain, they used a turkey as an example, on his lifelong journey from farm to table in the form of a traditional American mean. Cargill, a division of which processes and sells turkeys, timed its demonstration to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday period. The assumption in Cargill was that if there was increased interest in turkey meat during the holidays, there might also be increased interest in understanding the basis of blockchain.

Cargill has introduced this technology to monitor turkey cocks and hens from when they are hatched at the firm to their delivery as Honeysuckle White branded meat to the supermarket shelf. The company used blockchain to prepare a log and biography of each of its gallinaceous birds. Shoppers received a unique code for each oven-ready animal. They could use an on-line database to find information on which farm the bird originated from, what it ate, when it reached the butcher, the warehouse, the store and the shopping basket. Cargill obviously wanted to take advantage of growing interest in the crypto world and to show that it was concerned that its foodstuffs were of high quality and demonstrable origin.

However this small (and final) step for the turkeys became a giant leap for an understanding of blockchain technologies.

The Cashless Future “Age of Blockchain” conference also aims to contribute to understanding

the impacts of blockchain technologies on today’s banking and financial world.