Dell deChant’s “Where’s the Beef? Looking for Food in Religion and Ecology”
published in The Global Food System

New Port Richey, FL (September 18, 2014) – Dell deChant’s recent research on the relationship of food production to religion and ecology has been published in an important new text focusing on a wide array of challenges related to contemporary agriculture and food distribution. The text, published by Praeger, is titled The Global Food System: Issues and Solutions. deChant’s chapter, “Where’s the Beef? Looking for Food in Religion and Ecology,” explores the ecological context of contemporary food production and why this context is typically missing in studies of religion and ecology.

deChant’s specialization is in religion and contemporary cultures. His primary foci are religion and popular culture, new religious movements, and religion and ecology. His most recent book isReligion and Culture in the West: A Primer.

Dell deChant is a Master Instructor at USF, where he has served since 1986.  He has received two undergraduate teaching awards and two undergraduate advising awards. During his service as director of the undergraduate program in religious studies, the number of majors in the department grew from about 30 to nearly 200 — making it one of the larger religious studies programs at public universities in America (which average about 30 majors).

Although he teaches a large number of courses, most with high enrollments, deChant is also been a productive scholar (list of publications available if desired), with more than 30 articles in professional journals and encyclopedias, and chapters in twelve books. He has also presented over 30 papers or responses at professional conferences. Most recently, his “Religion and Ecology in Popular Culture” was published in 2012 in Understanding Religion and Popular Culture.

He is the author of three books: The Sacred Santa: Religious Dimensions of Consumer Culture,Religion and Culture in the West: A Primer, and The Religious Dynamic of Consumer Culture. He is the co-author (with Darrell Fasching) of Comparative Religious Ethics: A Narrative Approach.

Dell deChant, a resident in New Port Richey, is a native Floridian. He grew up just as the state’s post-war building boom was talking off, and has lived through Florida’s transformation from a largely rural, lightly settled, agricultural state, to one that is highly urbanized, densely populated, and economically diversified.

In addition to his academic career, deChant has been active in his community. He served two terms on city council in New Port Richey, initiating the city’s first sustainability projects – mulch recycling, Tree City USA designation, Earth and Arbor Day recognitions, and the city’s first community gardens.

He also established the Martin Luther King Day celebration in the city. Today, he continues to work for the betterment of Florida and his community, serving on the board of directors of Ecology Florida (http://www.ecologyflorida.org), and chairing the Environmental Committee of New Port Richey. deChant manages a small urban farm (Friendship Farms & Fare) and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project.