Insect farming for food and feed is growing rapidly, creating welfare questions about the most appropriate farming practices given genuine scientific uncertainty about insect sentience.
Insect farming welfare exists at the frontier of the expanding circle of moral concern. Whether farmed insects experience suffering in a morally relevant sense remains genuinely uncertain. The evidence is suggestive in some species — bees and cockroaches show more clear pain-relevant behaviors than fruit flies — but the uncertainty justifies precautionary approaches. Minimum welfare standards for insect farming that avoid potentially painful practices, ensure rapid slaughter methods, and prevent extreme crowding impose modest costs while providing insurance against causing suffering to potentially sentient beings. As the evidence base develops, standards can be refined upward or downward based on what we learn.