Insect farming is growing rapidly as a source of animal feed and human food. The welfare status of farmed insects is uncertain but the scale of production demands precautionary attention.
If insects have morally relevant experiences — even at a fraction of the intensity of vertebrate experiences — then the scale of insect farming makes it one of the most significant welfare issues in existence. The uncertainty about insect sentience does not resolve this question. Given that production involves hundreds of billions of animals, a small probability of meaningful suffering multiplied by enormous numbers represents a significant expected welfare harm. The precautionary principle suggests developing and applying welfare standards even in the absence of certainty.