As vertical farms increasingly incorporate insect production, welfare questions about insects raised in controlled environment agriculture deserve attention.
Insect sentience remains scientifically contested, but the precautionary principle suggests taking welfare seriously given the extraordinary numbers involved. Vertical farm insect production raises welfare questions about density, environmental conditions, killing methods, and the welfare of individual insects versus colony-level wellbeing. The controlled environments of vertical farms offer opportunity for welfare optimization, but commercial pressure toward maximum density may work against individual welfare. Investment in insect welfare science should accompany the sector's rapid growth.