Food Principles
What must be true before "source-to-plate" stops being a marketing line and becomes a cryptographic fact?
The first principle is nomenclature. A bottle is not a bottle — it is a custody chain with a liquid payload. Until every party names the same thing the same way, provenance is narrative.
Tightness Score
| P | Score | Evidence | Broken Because |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principles | 2/5 | No shared identity schema across producers, distributors, retailers | Every actor names the asset differently |
| Performance | 2/5 | Spoilage and counterfeit tracked only as insurance loss | No shared northstar metric for verified provenance |
| Platform | 3/5 | Baxus vaults, DeVin RFID, Helium sensors live but siloed | Infrastructure fragmented across spirits/wine only |
| Protocols | 2/5 | On-chain custody proven in wine/whiskey, not generalised | No cross-category standard fitting |
| Players | 3/5 | Clear incumbents (distilleries, distributors, auction houses) | Tribal imbalance — automators dominate, validators missing |
Naming System
| Entity | Current Name | What It Hides | Power Sits With |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle | SKU, lot number, UPC | Per-unit identity, custody history | Brand owner |
| Batch | Vintage, barrel, run | Individual bottle provenance | Producer |
| Custody event | Invoice, bill of lading | Real-time location and condition | Distributor |
| Authenticity | Label, seal, hologram | Molecular proof | Counterfeiter has parity |
Data Model
| Entity | Relationships | State Transitions |
|---|---|---|
| Bottle NFT | belongs_to Batch, owns_history Events | minted → stored → traded → consumed |
| Sensor | attached_to Vault or Container | online → reading → offline |
| Custody | connects Owner ↔ Bottle at timestamp | pending → confirmed → disputed |
| Auth event | verifies Bottle via DNA + NFC + RFID | unscanned → verified → flagged |
See data-flow for the footprint across Schema → Data → API → UI → Feedback.
Context
- Naming Standards — Why nomenclature is the first principle
- Digital Cork — DeVin's bottle identity contract
- Baxus Metaplex NFTs — Physical-to-digital binding
- Data Footprint — Maturity model
Questions
If two bottles of the same wine have different custody histories, are they the same product?
- Which actor loses most when per-unit identity replaces batch identity?
- What breaks first when molecular seals become cheaper than paper labels?
- Can a shared identity schema emerge without a regulator forcing it?