Greetings,
I was bowled over by Sciam's article "The Inner Lives of Insects" by Lars Chillka. [Scientific American. July/August 2023.] The notion that we should be concerned for even a moment with what nonhuman beings might be experiencing, even that they have experiences, is a topic that most people shy away from.
Excerpts from pg 31-32 passim:
More than a trillion crickets, black soldier flies, mealworms, and other species are killed annually and the sector is expanding rapidly.... there are supposedly no ethical concerns with insects like there are with cows and chicken(s). In fact, some insect-farming companies promote the notion that insects lack any capacity for pain.
This claim is demonstrably incorrect for all insect species tested so far.
The 'colony collapse disorder' that you may have heard about in the media is not the result of some well-known pathogens but also of honeybees being literally stressed to death by ruthless beekeeping practices. Even brief shaking of bees induces a pessimistic emotionlike state. Now imagine the effects of intense and prolonged vibrations imposed on bees when they are trucked across continents in sealed hives, sustained on artificial food and unable to defecate outside the hive. Then typically finding themselves in crop monocultures that lack the diversity of the floral food bees normally require.
People avoid this topic I think mainly because the implications might force us to consider the interests of animals. Most readers probably avoid thinking about this altogether.
In light of Sciam's publishing "The Inner Lives of Insects" I was disappointed that the issue was glossed over in the article "Gift of Life" Tanya Lewis Scientific American November 2023:
"Although human welfare is the biggest concern, xenotransplants also bring up questions about the ethics of raising animals for their organs. Animal welfare groups have asked whether it is ethical to kill an animal to save a human life. Xenotransplant advocates counter that animals raised to feed people vastly outnumber any that would be used for transplants."
Very poor reporting. It is overwhelmingly likely that the organizations and individuals Ms Lewis alluded to are also opposed to raising animals to eat.
Sincerely,
Rick Bogle
