Making insect protein affordable
Humans should be humane.
For many people who seek to limit meat and dairy intake, sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions are important, but it is the bitter cruelty of industrial-scale intensive farming that is the spark in their search for alternatives. Humans should use the privilege of intelligence to be kind to other creatures.
By the time crickets are harvested, they have grown to maturity, mated, and laid eggs. They would essentially be dying in a few days anyway.
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Imagine being kept in cramped, crowded conditions, with little space, little light, in a hot and humid room for your whole life.
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These conditions help crickets thrive. They seek out the tiniest spaces where they would be safe from predators in the wild, so naturally congregate there, and because they're cold blooded they love it when it's warm. High humidity is highly beneficial to their growth, and since they're nocturnal, prefer darkness.
Crickets are kept in conditions they love
Crickets will bury themselves head-first in soil if given the opportunity
The human brain is
86 million
times bigger than a cricket's
According to most entomologists, crickets are capable of nociception, but do not have the neural pathways required to actually have a feeling of pain. This means they can respond to stimuli which are damaging to them, but have no conscious experience of pain.