Mealworm farming for food and animal feed is growing rapidly. Whether mealworms are sentient and what welfare standards should apply is one of the most contested frontiers in animal welfare science.
Mealworm welfare sits at the edge of current scientific and ethical knowledge. The evidence for nociception in mealworms is established - they respond to harmful stimuli - but whether this involves subjective suffering remains deeply uncertain. The precautionary approach, given the scale of production (billions of individuals), suggests taking welfare considerations seriously even under uncertainty. This means investigating humane slaughter methods, appropriate stocking densities and housing conditions, and supporting the research needed to resolve current uncertainties. The environmental case for insect farming is real, but environmental benefit does not override welfare harm if the animals involved are sentient.