Cellular Agriculture Research Progress and Prospects: Insights from Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

World agriculture is facing a daunting task to feed the burgeoning population against multiple production and environmental threats. The alarming growth in population vis-à-vis current food production is expected to increase the global food insecurity levels. Inter alia, cellular agriculture – an incipient technology – is being considered as a potential alternative to cater for the growing demand for food and nutrition. The technology aims to develop edible agricultural products including meat with reduced environmental footprint against conventional farm production. In this context, an attempt has been made to review the progress of cellular agriculture research in four decades (1981-2020) through a bibliometric analysis and to suggest a roadmap for future research. The study sourced data from the Web of Science during October 2020. Using keywords, the database showed 212 searches pertaining to cellular agriculture from 135 journals worldwide. Of the journals, seven had at least five published articles and 33 had two articles each. Subsequently, the bibliographic coupling among the identified journals was carried out. It is found that the Journals: Appetite, Meat Science, and Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics had the largest circles corresponding to their respective number of publications coupled with notable linkages with other journals. Also, a detailed analysis was performed on categories, growth trend, keywords, institutions, regions and leading researchers of cellular agriculture. The findings indicate that the Appetite Journal followed by the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics had published a significant percentage of articles on cellular agriculture, and Environmental Science and Technology was identified as the highly cited journal. The USA, England and the Netherlands were identified as the progressive regions in cellular agriculture research. The bibliometric analysis points to sluggish progress in cellular agriculture research and production despite its potential benefits. Future research should focus on the cost-effectiveness of the technology, consumer willingness to buy, development of food safety protocols on its merit and regional policy governance coupled with popularising its paybacks in the context of ensuring food security.

Keywords: Cellular agriculture, Cultured meat, Scientometrics, Bibliometrics, Plant-based meat, Insect-based meat

JEL Classification: Q01, Q18, Q10