A new food chain: Adoption and policy implications to blockchain use in agri‐food industries

Legislation and regulation proposed to study, fund, and govern blockchain use is emerging among both US federal and state governments. These regulatory requirements, however, are not fully consistent across jurisdictions, which may add further challenge to the adoption of this technology by agri‐food system firms. This study compiles and provides a descriptive overview of legislation and regulations related to blockchain technology. Implications of the current regulatory approach on the adoption of blockchain on the US agri‐food system, and specifically of the wider adoption of distributed ledger technologies on food safety and market access of smaller scale farm operations, are considered.