Cellular agriculture, the production of seafood products from cells (e.g., muscle and fat cells) using cell culture techniques, has been proposed as a novel approach to complement the conventional seafood industry (i.e., aquaculture and capture fisheries). The cellular agriculture industry is still in its infancy. To build a successful enterprise, the industry should address the technological challenges as well as the social and ethical dimension s of cultivated seafood production to ensure consumer acceptance of these products . The extension educational process is a vital component of any agricultural development process, which may include transferring a particular technology or communicating specific information to help the stakeholders form sound opinions and make sound decisions about the agricultural production systems. Therefore, this study aimed to study the perception of Sea Grant Extension educators regarding the consumption and production of alternative seafood products. With the intention of developing an educational extension and outreach program related to cellular agriculture, we designed a survey to study the Sea Grant Extension Educators’ perception regarding cultivated seafood products. In this survey, a series of questions (Figures 1 and 2) were asked to understand the perception and any knowledge gaps of Extension e ducators concerning the cultivated seafood. Out of 117 respondents , 49 were extension agents , 36 were E xtension specialists, and 22 had other extension roles . 57 % of the respondent had concerns about the consumption and production of cell-based seafood products . Safety, s ensory attributions, and environmental impacts were the highest-ranked concerns.
This study’s outcome is imperative for developing an Extension program to work with extension educators as agents of change for consumers’ perception of novel cultivated seafood products.