Insect farming is growing rapidly as a more sustainable protein source. The question of whether insects suffer, and how to apply precautionary welfare principles, is an urgent emerging issue.
Insect farming sits at one of the most genuinely uncertain frontiers of animal welfare. Unlike vertebrate livestock where sentience is firmly established, the question of whether insects experience suffering remains scientifically unresolved. This uncertainty, however, does not eliminate the welfare question: the scale of insect production is so vast that even a small probability of morally relevant suffering translates to an enormous expected number of suffering individuals. Precautionary welfare principles suggest that where reasonable, production conditions should be improved to minimise potential suffering regardless of the probability of sentience. This includes research into less aversive killing methods, maximum density standards based on stress indicators, and ongoing investment in resolving the scientific questions about insect consciousness. The insect farming sector has the opportunity to build welfare science into its foundation rather than retrofitting it decades later.