Insect farming is growing rapidly as a sustainable protein source. As billions of insects are farmed daily, questions about their capacity to suffer deserve serious attention.
The scale of insect farming means that even small probabilities of sentience warrant serious welfare consideration — across trillions of animals, uncertainty matters enormously. Research into insect nociception, stress responses, and aversion behavior is growing. Best practices for humane slaughter, appropriate stocking densities, and species-appropriate conditions should be implemented as precautions. The precautionary principle argues for erring on the side of welfare improvements.