Insect farming for food and feed is growing rapidly. The welfare implications of farming billions of insects depend critically on unresolved questions about insect sentience and pain capacity.
Insect farming presents one of the most challenging welfare frontiers in animal agriculture, precisely because the scientific and philosophical questions about insect sentience remain unresolved. If insects are capable of suffering, then farming them at the scale of trillions annually creates an immense welfare problem. If they are not, then insect farming may represent a genuinely lower-welfare-impact source of protein than vertebrate farming. The precautionary principle suggests that as long as uncertainty persists, efforts to minimize potential suffering through slaughter methods that cause rapid insect mortality, and through understanding behavioral needs for environmental conditions, are warranted. Research investment in insect sentience and welfare assessment is urgently needed to inform this rapidly growing industry.