The farming of billions of invertebrates — from mealworms to black soldier flies — for animal feed and human food is growing rapidly, raising novel welfare questions at massive scale.
The welfare of farmed insects is genuinely uncertain but demands serious consideration given the extraordinary numbers involved. If insects have even a small probability of experiencing something negative, the scale of modern insect farming represents a potentially enormous welfare concern. Better research into insect sentience, humane killing methods, and species-appropriate conditions is urgently needed to guide this growing industry.