Trillions of insects are reared annually for food, feed, and other purposes. The moral status of insects is uncertain but warrants precautionary welfare consideration given the scale.
Insect welfare occupies the frontier of moral consideration — the scale of insect use is so vast that even a small probability of morally relevant experience creates enormous expected harm. The scientific evidence is genuinely uncertain: insects have nociceptors and behavioral avoidance responses, but whether these involve subjective suffering is unknown. The precautionary argument for insect welfare is scale-based: given uncertainty, the expected harm from dismissing insect welfare entirely (if they do have morally relevant experience) is enormous, while the cost of taking precautionary measures is modest. Practical welfare measures for insects include avoiding unnecessary handling stress, using the most rapid killing methods available, and supporting research into insect sentience. The evidence does suggest CO2 exposure causes distress, and high temperatures during killing may cause pain. Freezing is considered among the more humane options.