Abraham Rowe

At least 420 billion to 1 trillion silkworms are killed annually to produce silk. While only 61 billion to 170 billion of these worms die due to diseases and pests, diseases cause up to 99% of the cumulative days of potentially negative experiences I identified on farms, (with the remaining 1% caused by slaughter). This suggests that research to inform the prioritization of the silk industry for animal advocates ought to focus on the sentience of silkworms, not pupating silk moths, as has usually been assumed. Campaigns to ban silk or stop its sale at retail locations are plausibly the most promising avenue for animal advocates to reduce silk production, therefore reducing the days of potentially negative experiences caused by diseases on silk farms. Developing and promoting alternative silks may also be promising as an intervention.

Currently, 1 trillion to 1.2 trillion insects are raised on farms annually for food and animal feed. There are currently between 79 billion and 94 billion insects alive on farms globally on average on an average day. While it is unclear what welfare reforms might best improve the lives of insects on farms, it seems possible that standardized training on best practices, and potentially slaughter reform are promising ways to improve insect welfare on farms.

Currently, estimates of the number of invertebrates used or killed by humans are very poor. Summing the rigorous estimates that exist, at least 7.2 trillion to 26 trillion invertebrates annually are killed directly by humans, and 18 trillion to 40 trillion are used but not killed annually. I outline some of the largest invertebrate industries, and estimate the total number of invertebrates used or killed by humans. In total, not including nematodes, I believe between 100 trillion and 10 quadrillion invertebrates are directly killed or used annually by humans. The majority of this impact is caused by the application of agricultural pesticides.

This post is a short summary of research on farmed cricket welfare considerations funded by Rethink Priorities as part of our research agenda on understanding the welfare of insects on farms. The paper includes recommendations.

This post is a short summary of research on yellow mealworm welfare that was funded by Rethink Priorities. The full paper on this research was published in a peer-reviewed, open access journal.

This post summarizes research into the Chinese mantis, focusing on the genes associated with nociception (the ability to perceive noxious stimuli). This type of research may help to improve the conditions on farms to better meet the needs of insects.