Online Book Launch of Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments behind Filipino Food (Philippines)

 

Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments behind Filipino Food, a labor of love of two passionate editors, 16 brilliant authors, one gifted artist, and a super supportive and organized university press, is finally out!  The first of its kind, this book, a multi-layered gastro-ecological discourse book on Filipino food, brings together a transnational community of food enthusiasts, engaged scholars, and social and environmental activists to set the table for a new canon in Philippine and Filipino/Filipinx studies and, more broadly, in food studies.

 

Online book launch

Here in the country, a virtual online book launch was held last October 3, Friday, 3–5 PM HST, and October 4, Saturday, 9–11 AM PHT.  Speakers included the book’s editors Dr. Alyssa Paredes, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Marvin Joseph F. Montefrio, an associate professor of social sciences (environmental studies) at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

Dr. Marvin Joseph F. Montefrio and Dr. Alyssa Paredes

Also in attendance as their panel were Ms. Felice Prudente Sta. Maria (non-fiction author, internationally awarded cultural heritage advocate and food historian), Ms. Giney Villar (Executive Chef, food historian, blogger and writer) and Mr. Paolo Ven B. Paculan (educator, historian, writer and Filipino language teacher) sahred their comments and insights. CSEAS Director Dr. Miriam T. Stark and Consul-General Mr. Arman R. Talbo delivered the opening remarks.  Dr. Pia Arboleda (University of Hawai'i Momoa, Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures) moderated the entire session.

 The event was hosted by the Philippine Consulate-General in Honolulu in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and Mama Sita Foundation. 

 The book, part of the Food in Asia and the Pacific series, was published by the University of Hawai'i Press last April 30 of this year.  Mr. Aldy Aguirre created the book cover art and illustrations. Aside from Paredes and Montefrio, joining the online launch were the 16 co-authors namely:

• Anacorita O. Abasolo 
• Inigo Acosta 
• Maria Carinnes Alejandria
• Tami Alvarez
• Mary Jill Ira A. Banta 
• Jose Kervin Cesar B. Calabias 
• Dana M. Collins 
• Adrian De Leon 
• Katrina Beatrice David Jacinto 
• Nicolo Paolo P. Ludovice 
• Orven Mallari 
• Anthony D. Medrano
• Cla D. Ruzol 
• Joshua Ezekiel C. Sales 
• Thea Kersti C. Tandog 
• Jessie Varquez

 

A recipe for a new storytelling tradition that combines critical studies of Filipino food and of the environment, it takes as its starting point the metaphor of halo-halo, the iconic dessert and summertime treat of crushed ice, jellies, fruit slices, and ube jam, etc. which food writers and social historians, alike, frequently describe as a symbol of Filipino cultural identity for the ways it mixes local and foreign ingredients into a concoction now readily recognized as typically “Pinoy.” Halo-halo is also a product of Philippine ecosystems.  In an ever evolving and highly politicized foodscape, it represents an eclectic blend of environmental tales.

 In 294 pages and twelve chapters, the contributors complicate cultural icons, like Jollibee Chickenjoy and the sari-sari store, and bring these into conversation with the scavenging practices of informal settlements in Manila and the agroecological practices of indigenous lumad schools. They reveal new challenges in landscapes spanning the mountainous frontiers of Northern Luzon, the carceral spaces of urban Manila; the disaster-prone coastal communities of the Visayas; the hunger-stricken plantation zones of Mindanao, the ever-changing tides of the archipelago’s waterways, and the invisibilized ecologies of the diaspora. These are the emergent environments behind Filipino food, and they compel us to reimagine what, how, and why we eat.

 Mr. Krishnendu Ray, author of The Migrant's Table and The Ethnic Restaurateur, stated that “This is the most interesting book I have read about postcolonial and transnational gastroecology in terms of its empirical richness and theoretical provocation. Halo-Halo Ecologies’ critical juxtaposition of food and environment gets us around the cliches of mere ethnocentric gourmandism. It is a model for thinking through the complex history and experience of the world we consume (and destroy) to sustain ourselves.”

 Ms. Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter at Eater.com, added that “As Filipino cuisine and culture continue to gain global attention, Halo-Halo Ecologies provides an essential new perspective. While conversations about Filipino cuisine in the diaspora tend to focus on food as a symbol of cultural identity, this book implores us to broaden our scope. It's a crucial reminder of how vulnerable our foodways are and how much our connection to the land matters.”

 According to Mr. Saturnino M. Borras Jr., co-author of Scholar-Activism and Land Struggles, “This trailblazing book is framed, argued, and written in a compelling and extraordinarily accessible manner, making otherwise heavy to digest topics easy and appetizing to engage. A tour de force, it will proudly stand alongside classic books on Filipino culture and society.”

 Finally, Mr. Patricio N. Abinales, of University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, added “The painful irony of this book is that along with the pride over the internationalization of Filipino cuisine, one strongly felt in the diaspora, is the suffering of those back home as corporate greed, militarism, and the genetic modification of food continue the ecological devastation of their foodways. This intrepid group of scholars asks us to take a pause and consider the increasingly fraught histories behind our most cherished dishes.”