Ethical Mission Statement
Protect the Taste exists so that maple syrup is what its label says, and so that monitoring it strengthens the people, the forest and the communities that produce it.
Who this is for
Producers and sugarhouse workers: control over their own operation, and evidence for their good name.
Buyers, packers and retailers: lots they can trace to a farm.
Consumers: syrup that matches its label.
State and provincial agencies and producer associations: measurement evidence that supports the standards they set.
Researchers: data shared only with a farm's consent.
Indigenous nations: a say in how this is built and used.
The sugarbush: monitoring that takes account of tree and forest health.
1. Producer control
The farm decides what an agent may do and for how long. An agent works within authority the farm has granted for a set period, and the farm can stop it at any time.
2. Farm data
Data from an operation belongs to that farm. It is shared only with the parties the farm chooses, for purposes the farm approves.
3. Honest measurement
An agent reports what it measures and how certain it is, and claims no accuracy it has not shown. A person confirms a final grade.
4. Truthful origin
Buyers and consumers can check where a lot of syrup came from, backed by a farm the state already knows. The project produces evidence; regulators and industry bodies decide what to do with it.
5. The sugarbush
Monitoring serves the health of the forest across seasons, including tree health and a changing climate, alongside syrup quality.
6. Fairness
The tool is affordable for small operations and has no lock-in. It monitors syrup and equipment, not individual workers.
7. Indigenous nations
Maple sugaring originates with the Indigenous peoples of northeastern North America. Indigenous producers and knowledge holders are consulted in how this is built and used.
8. Security
Agents get the least authority they need, short-lived credentials, and approval by a physical security key. Security defects are disclosed and tracked.
9. Accountability
A named person answers for each agent. The project says plainly what is built and what is not yet.
Tell us what to change
This statement is a draft for producers and other parties to react to. The survey asks about each commitment.
Prototype site: nothing here is a real production deployment.