Mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor) are farmed at industrial scale for food, feed, and pet food. Their welfare status and the specific challenges of mealworm production deserve attention as the sector grows.
Mealworm welfare uncertainty parallels that of other farmed insects - the probability of meaningful suffering is uncertain but non-zero, and the enormous scale of production makes precautionary welfare investment ethically important. Mealworms show some behavioural responses to noxious stimuli, but the evidence for subjective experience is weaker than for more complex insects like bees. The farming conditions - dense aggregations, temperature management, and slaughter by freezing - represent areas where welfare improvement is achievable at modest cost. As a protein source, mealworm farming has a dramatically lower welfare and environmental footprint than conventional livestock, even accounting for uncertainty about insect sentience.