The question of whether insects can suffer is scientifically contested but increasingly important given the scale of insect farming and pesticide use globally.
Insect sentience sits at the scientific frontier and generates genuine disagreement among leading welfare scientists. The evidence from bees and flies suggests some capacity for negative states, but whether this constitutes subjective suffering in a morally relevant sense is unclear. The precautionary principle applied to insect welfare has enormous implications given that insects are farmed in numbers that dwarf all vertebrate farming combined. Even accepting low individual probability of welfare relevance, the expected welfare harm from poor insect farming conditions could be enormous. Research in this area is urgent and underinvested relative to its potential importance.