Alyssa and Marvin were joined by their co-authors Ma. Katrina Beatrice David Jacinto, Orven  Mallari, Anthony D. Medrano, Dana Collins, Adrian De Leon, Nicolo Paolo P. Ludovice, Inigo  Acosta, Jose Kervin Cesar B. Calabias, Jessie Varquez, Maria Carinnes Alejandria, Anacorita  O. Abasolo, Ezekiel Sales, Cla D. Ruzol, Thea Kersti C. Tandog, Mary Jill Ira A. Banta, and  Tami Alvarez. Also in attendance as their panel were Ms. Felice Sta. Maria, Chef Giney Villar,  and Mr. Paolo Paculan to share their comments and insights on Halo Halo Ecologies, with Dr.  Pia Arboleda moderating the entire session. 

Halo Halo Ecologies is a multi-layered gastro-ecological discourse book on Filipino food. The  editors used halo-halo, the beloved Filipino dessert, as a metaphor to contextualize cultural 

identity, complex foodscapes, and Philippine ecosystems. As such, paving way for timely efforts  to set a new, but foundational standard in Philippine, Filipino/Filipinx, and food studies.  

The contributors attempt to reframe readers’ perspectives—challenging one to “reimagine what,  how, and why we eat”. The book underscores the adverse impacts of food that touch upon  livelihoods, environments, public works, technoscience, culture, socio-politics, and more. These  tackle how typical fast food meals and sari-sari stores relate to scavenging practices of Manila  informal settlers and agroecological practices of Indigenous Lumad schools; how fruit and  vegetable farmers suffer the repercussion from agrochemical effects; how communities wage efforts against increasing threats to landscapes and coastal areas; how Filipinos are entrapped  in cycles of debt and poverty; and how the diaspora has continually faced the invisibilized  ecologies. 

Ms. Felice Sta. Maria commended the contributors’ efforts in emphasizing food’s inextricably  link to culture, politics, and ecologies. She highlights the need for more critical and nuanced  approaches to culinary writing—stating that “literary terms and political terms together along  

with ecological terms can add clarity to today’s food writers’ opinions.” As such, the anthology  urges readers to rethink food systems as tools not only for nourishment but also liberation. 

Chef Giney Villar highlighted that “society instills their resistance to social disposability…no one  is disposable,” demonstrating Filipinos’ spirit of bayanihan. She applauds the book’s reimagined  formats and languages that can inspire diverse people to explore the anthology in different  forms for widespread awareness whether comics, podcasts, curricula, etc. Ultimately, she asks  that while “food is a conveyor of culture, what kind of culture are we fostering?” 

Mr. Paolo Paculan drew parallels between Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and Halo-Halo Ecologies,  describing Noli as a “time capsule” that reveals life at the margins. Alike, Halo-Halo Ecologies  empowers marginalized communities—representing the unheard voices, restoring their stories  and emphasizing the Philippines’ ongoing social and ecological challenges.

Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments behind Filipino Food sheds light on the  complex cultural, ecological, and social issues of Filipino food. It hopes to inspire readers to  contribute, in their own way, to food systems that are more sustainable and just. To support this  mission, the anthology is available in print edition through Amazon and the University of Hawai‘i  Press.

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