ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the potential of using insects as a sustainable protein source to achieve global food security while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ecological degradation. The authors criticize the general positivist conception of insect industries and discuss various neglected ethical aspects and possible drawbacks of the proposal. The discussions revolve around both practical challenges, such as economic feasibility and consumer acceptance, and more fundamental concerns regarding the growth of industrial animal husbandry systems. Furthermore, the authors address theoretical and conceptual issues concerning insect sentience and welfare, arguing that the supposed uncertainty about insect sentience is due to conceptual confusion. The moment it is recognized, in accordance with the Aristotelian conception of the psyche, that concepts such as consciousness and sentience can only be appropriately attributed to animals as a whole, rather than (parts of) their brains, this uncertainty dissolves. Also from an Aristotelian perspective, the authors argue that the emergence of insect industries represents a continuation of a culture of excess, which contradicts the virtue of temperance. The authors conclude that insects are sentient creatures, feel pain and desire, and want things, thus underscoring the need for welfare criteria for insects, given that there are currently no regulations in place.
