Ethical issues in insect production

Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapportBidrag til bog/antologiForskningfagfællebedømt

Insect rearing is often presented as a promising novel source of protein in many industrialised countries in the West. In this chapter, we will first give an overview of the different ethical concerns insect production for food and feed give rise to. This is followed by an elaboration of two of the ethical issues that have, so far, been least discussed. (1) Animal welfare: What are the typical reasons given for including welfare considerations in animal production system, and to what extent do they apply to insects? In order to answer these questions, we will discuss how one may conceptualise insect welfare and present an account of what is known, or can be inferred, about the capability of insects to experience welfare and where future research needs lie. (2) Animal integrity: Do insects possess integrity and can it be violated through large-scale production systems? To clarify this, we will discuss whether it can be argued there is more to the ethical discussion than how insects are bred, kept, and killed (i.e. large-scale production including domestication of new species and the killing of billions of insects to further human ends may entail ethically relevant dimensions). Further, we discuss these issues in relation to biotechnological changes of insects for different purposes.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TitelInsects as food and feed : from production to consumption
RedaktørerArnold van Huis, Jeffery K. Tomberlin
Antal sider16
ForlagWageningen Academic Publishers
Publikationsdato2017
Sider364-379
Kapitel19
ISBN (Trykt)978-90-8686-296-2
ISBN (Elektronisk)978-90-8686-849-0
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2017

ID: 184575499