Farmed insect production operates at billions of individuals per facility. The moral and welfare calculus of this scale under sentience uncertainty requires careful thought.
Insect production welfare at scale forces confrontation with the philosophical problem of expected value under uncertainty. If there is even a small probability that black soldier flies experience suffering, and if billions are produced annually, the expected suffering is potentially very large. Rethink Priorities estimates the probability of some form of sentience in insects as non-trivial but uncertain — enough to warrant serious moral consideration. Production practices including extremely high stocking densities, potentially aversive killing methods, and thermal stress during production may cause suffering if insects are sentient. Given the rapid growth of insect farming and its lack of regulatory oversight, now is the time to develop precautionary welfare standards before poor practices become entrenched at scale.