Insect farming is growing rapidly as a more sustainable protein source. Whether insects are sentient enough to have welfare interests is scientifically contested but increasingly important.
The scientific evidence for insect sentience is genuinely uncertain — insects have nociceptors and show protective behaviors after injury, but whether they have subjective pain experience is debated. The precautionary principle applied to sentience uncertainty means that the scale of insect farming — potentially trillions of individuals — warrants taking welfare seriously. Methods of slaughter that are likely to cause less suffering, such as quick freezing, are preferable to methods like boiling that may involve more distress.