ARTICLE F&A Alternative Proteins Edition April 2023 47 fare and even less regulatory scrutiny, just about anything goes. Issues can be brushed aside or minimised. Like the issue of insects thriving in gregarious settings, which is used as a justification to increase insect population density in facilities. Yet there is evidence that even with gregarious species, overcrowding not only hinders their capacity to behave normally, but can be a trigger for abnormal aggressivity and cannibalism. EU POLICY NEEDS TO CATCH UP WITH INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT In the EU, strong action on animal welfare is a concern. Citizens overwhelmingly believe that the European Union should act more decisively. A pan-European survey conducted by Eurobarometer in 2016 indicates that 94% of Europeans consider protecting animal welfare important. More specifically, 89% believe there should be EU legislation requiring people using animals for commercial purposes to care for them. More recently, a European Citizens’ Initiative called “End the Cage Age” obtained over 1.4 million signatures across the EU. Insect farming, however, is following the path that the other intensively farmed animal sectors took. Starting from a total disregard for their animals’ welfare and, only slowly over decades, complying to stricter animal welfare legislation. Yet, despite improvements in animal welfare regulations in the EU over time, animals in intensive facilities are still systematically treated with cruelty and existing legislation flouted. Insects may be smaller and less cuddly than most other farmed animals, but their welfare, too, should fall under Europeans’ moral expectations. The “alternative protein” discourse that erroneously surrounds the insect farming industry acts as a fig-leaf removing some of the realities of intensive insect farming from citizens’ and, more importantly, policy makers’ sight. Currently, the European Union cannot or is not willing to look at insect welfare legislation. Formally, for the European institutions to act on the welfare of animal species, the latter need to be considered sentient. This recognition requires existing science on insect sentience to be officially recognised by the European institutions, a process that can last many years. Considering the expected growth of the insect farming industry, this recognition process should be launched quickly. EU legislation needs to pick up the pace and catch up with industry development. For this, EU policy makers should stop referring to insects as “alternative proteins” and fully integrate that insects are animals. It would not be morally acceptable for trillions of individual insects to suffer needlessly. To properly inform the debate surrounding insect farming and to allow the EU to make sound policy decisions, the welfare of insects must therefore be thoroughly investigated. Just like any other sentient being, insects deserve to lead happy, fulfilled lives, where all their natural needs are met.
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