Insects farmed for food and feed represent billions of individual animals, and growing evidence of insect sentience argues for welfare consideration in farming practices.
Insect welfare is an area of genuine scientific uncertainty, but growing evidence of nociception and behavioral pain responses in some species argues for a precautionary welfare approach. Thermal and chemical exposure during killing causes behavioral distress responses. As insect farming scales to potentially replace conventional animal protein in food systems, developing welfare standards for the billions of insects involved is becoming ethically important.