Big brother is watching your lamb!

Mahyar Osanlouy, a research engineer at Auckland University, also works part-time for the Auckland company Soul Machines, which specialises in virtual reality.

He says this technology has amazing possibilities for adding to the sophistication of marketing our products in supermarkets worldwide. He says the technology called ‘block chain’ can connect images all along a supply chain from a farm and can show these in a retail store.

“Imagine going into a supermarket and picking up a pack of meat. There is a screen above the freezer and as soon as you pick up the meat a whole lot of information about it appears on that screen,” he told Rural News. 

“It tells you what sort of meat it is, where it’s come from – which country, which farm, whether it is premium quality and whether the animal was grass-fed or not plus lots of other information.”

Osanlouy says as NZ is well known globally as a producer of high-quality meat and other primary products, it is well positioned to take advantage of this technology.

“By implementing this technology NZ will help retain and increase its market share nationally and internationally. Consumers are looking for the story behind what they buy,” he explains. 

“When they buy NZ lamb they want to know where it is coming from, the unique story behind it and anything to do with the provenance of the product.” 

Osanlouy says NZ can use this technology to make consumers’ shopping experiences fun and more interactive.

Australia is looking at the technology and he predicts within a couple years it will be common in supermarkets worldwide.