美国国家公共电台 NPR Where's The Beef? Wyoming Ranchers Bet On Blockchain To Track It

 

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When you hear the word blockchain, you might think of cryptocurrency. The technology acts as a digital ledger¹ which has the potential to transform a number of industries like agriculture. Kamila Kudelska of Wyoming Public Radio explains.

KAMILA KUDELSKA, BYLINE²: Bonita Carlson grew up on a ranch³ in northeast Wyoming. One time, her mom was gone, and she helped out with the laundry. Along with her clothes she threw in some of her dad's shirts.

BONITA CARLSON: When I opened the washing machine and saw all of his records from the whole year of that calf⁴ crop was destroyed in the washing machine...

KUDELSKA: She had thrown in her dad's record book, all the information on their cattle. For Carlson, this is a perfect example of why it's important to merge⁵ the old heritage of the agriculture industry with new technology. Blockchain acts as a digital ledger that cannot be altered. It would have kept all of her father's records intact. But it goes beyond that. With blockchain, data like what the cattle eats, what type of vaccines⁶ it has received and if it was ever sick will be available for anyone to see. So Wyoming ranchers believe they can brand their beef as superior.

CARLSON: Here in Wyoming, you know, the cattle are out in big, open pastures. And they eat grass that's available. And there's plenty of it. And they drink water as it falls from the sky, you know, into the reservoirs. We don't have cattle in small lots.

KUDELSKA: Basically this means cattle are treated well in Wyoming. But by the time they're being packaged as beef, they've been mixed in with beef from other ranches⁷ where the cattle may not have roamed free. Rob Jennings is the CEO of BeefChain.io, the company that's getting blockchain going on ranches in Wyoming.

ROB JENNINGS: The unique methodology that each ranch uses - you know, what grass they're fed on - that's all lost. And consequently, you know, the rancher's getting pennies on the dollar.

KUDELSKA: Until now, it hasn't been worth it to Wyoming ranchers to try to keep them apart. But Carlson and her fiance just tagged 250 steer⁸ calves⁹ at their ranch with blockchain tags. The cost - $5 per tag. By using these tags and keeping their cattle separate all the way through processing, they hope to increase the value of their cattle by 10 to 20 percent. The data from that tag would stay with the beef all the way to the shelf so a consumer could scan a code and see the information. The international market demands this kind of transparency.

JENNINGS: Traceability is of utmost importance to them, food safety and particularly guarding against food fraud in those markets, things being packaged that aren't what they say they are.

KUDELSKA: However, traceability already exists in agriculture. And this is where some are wary¹⁰. Dylan Yaga is with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He's working on a paper exploring when it's appropriate to use blockchain. He says industries need to be careful about overinvesting in new technologies that don't have a proven competitive advantage.

DYLAN YAGA: If you've got a problem that sounds like it could be solved by blockchain, absolutely, like, look into it. Explore the technology. But there's other technologies out there in existence that have been around much longer that could possibly be employed to solve the same problem.

KUDELSKA: Currently RFID tags are in use, which track similar data points. But the data can later be manipulated. The difference with blockchain and the perceived strength is none of the data points can be deleted or changed. Mistakes have to be noted¹¹ with a correction. Ultimately, BeefChain hopes that as soon as next year, you'll be able to go to a store, scan a QR code and learn about the life your steak had before you decide to buy it. For NPR News, I'm Kamila Kudelska in Cody, Wyo.

1 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

5 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

8 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

9 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。