As insect farming scales rapidly for protein production, the development of welfare standards for farmed insects faces the challenge of applying welfare thinking under profound uncertainty about insect sentience.
Insect farming welfare standards development represents an attempt to apply animal welfare thinking under conditions of maximum sentience uncertainty. The precautionary approach suggests that even under uncertainty, minimizing unnecessary stress and suffering in farmed insects is warranted given the potential for morally relevant experience and the minimal cost of welfare improvements. Key welfare parameters under consideration include providing appropriate substrate and environmental conditions that allow natural behavior, avoiding extreme overcrowding that causes stress-related mortality, and using kill methods that minimize potential suffering duration. The development of insect welfare standards now, while the industry is young and practices are being established, is more effective than attempting reform after intensive practices become entrenched. Early-stage welfare standard development for insects is a model for proactive rather than reactive animal welfare policy.