If insects are capable of suffering, the number affected by human activity dwarfs all vertebrate animal use; the scale creates both unique moral urgency and unique practical challenges.
The scale problem in insect welfare is genuinely staggering. If insects have morally relevant experiences — still scientifically contested but no longer dismissible — then the number of insects affected by human activity exceeds all vertebrate animal use by orders of magnitude. Pesticide applications alone may kill more potentially sentient beings each year than all other human-caused animal mortality combined. This scale creates both urgency and paralysis: the importance of getting the answer right is enormous, but the uncertainty about insect sentience makes confident action difficult. The most defensible response is to invest seriously in resolving the scientific question while applying the precautionary principle in contexts where low-cost welfare improvements are achievable.