Eating Chili Crab in the Anthropocene

Cover of first edition

**Eating Chili Crab in the Anthropocene** is an anthology that "examines contemporary Singapore from an ecocultural lens". Edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, it features essays by Michele Chong, Fu Xiyao, Feroz Khan, Heeeun Monica Kim, Lee Jin Hee, Al Lim, Aidan Mock, Neo Xiaoyun, Ng Xin, Mathias Ooi, Sarah Novak, Bertrand Seah, and Yogesh Tulsi. The book was published in June 2020, and explored issues ranging from local biodiversity to the petrochemical industry.

## Synopsis

Found on the back cover:

> In this era of climate crisis, in which our very futures are at stake, sustainability is a global imperative. Yet we tend to associate sustainability, nature, and the environment with distant places, science, and policy. The truth is that everything is environmental, from transportation to taxes, work to love, cities to cuisine.
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> This book is the first to examine contemporary Singapore from an ecocultural lens, looking at the ways that Singaporean life and culture is deeply entangled with the nonhuman lives that flourish all around us. The authors represent a new generation of cultural critics and environmental thinkers, who will inherit the future we are creating today. From chilli crab to Tiger Beer, Changi Airport to Pulau Semakau, O-levels to orang minyak films, these essays offer fresh perspectives on familiar subjects, prompting us to recognise the incredible urgency of climate change and the need to transform our ways of thinking, acting, learning, living, and governing so as to maintain a stable planet and a decent future.
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## Chapter Summaries

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Introduction: Seeing Singapore with New Eyes

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Matthew Schneider-Mayerson notes that while we tend to think of “the environment” as a separate, niche interest, “the truth is everything is environmental.” He argues that while science, technology, and policy are important tools to measure and shape the world, desires, values, priorities and politics are just as important, and predicts that if human beings (and Singapore) are to survive climate change, “it will be because of a dramatic shift in desires, values and priorities, which will redirect technology, policy and broader political and economic systems.

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Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene: Nature, Culture and Care

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Celebrating the evolution of the ancient crab and drawing on indigenous knowledge of sustainable fishing, Neo Xiaoyun pushes us to think more consciously about our relationship with nonhuman animals. This chapter highlights the ecological limits of producing Singapore’s beloved chilli crab dish, and calls on us to consider more ethical ways of treating this humble creature.

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Lovable Lutrines: Curated Nature and Environmental Migrants in the Ottercity

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Heeeun Monica Kim draws our attention to the incredible affection Singaporeans have for our otters and the ways in which the otter has become a mascot for Singapore’s environmentalism. She also critiques our comparative inattention to the vulnerable and threatened species that are less charismatic, as well as our lack of concern for (human) environmental migrants.

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To Build a City-State and Erode History: Sand and the Construction of Singapore

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Through the lens of Singapore’s artists and filmmakers, Sarah Novak explores the social and environmental consequences of land reclamation. She implores us to consider the exploited resources that have been instrumental to but largely ignored in the Singapore Story of progress.

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Consuming Tigers

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Ng Xin discusses the long history of tigers and human–tiger relationships in Singapore and Southeast Asia; the tragic disappearance of real, flesh-and-blood tigers from Singapore and the world; and the ways in which tigers have been reduced to advertising mascots for local brands such as Tiger Beer and Tiger Balm. What does it mean when animals exist primarily as symbols and brands?

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Dumpster Diving in Semakau: Retrieving Indigenous Histories from Singapore’s Waste Island

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What could possibly be wrong with Semakau Landfill, Singapore’s celebrated eco-dump? Fu Xiyao describes the environmental costs of Semakau by unearthing the indigenous histories, livelihoods and knowledge systems that were sacrificed for a technocratic environmental solution. She calls for future environmental management to incorporate indigenous experiences and perspectives in order to restore care for our island.

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Feeding the Monkeys: Towards a Multispecies Singapore

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Michele Chong “stories” macaque monkeys, presenting them as animals with personalities, families and histories. By drawing attention to the origin of macaque–human conflicts in Singapore, she discusses the possibility of designing and constructing a “multispecies Singapore” that would be organised around both human and nonhuman flourishing.

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Javan Mynahs, “Invasive Species” and Belonging in Singapore

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Who belongs in Singapore? Lee Jin Hee begins to answer this question with reference to the Javan mynah bird, an “invasive” species in Singapore, before tackling some related, thorny questions: Which humans can be said to rightfully belong in any given place? What should environmental conservation aim to achieve in an ever-changing world?

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An Oily Mirror: 1950s Orang Minyak Films as Singaporean Petrohorror

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Yogesh Tulsi dives into Singapore’s cultural history, arguing that the popular orang minyak films of the 1950s are indicative of the moment when fossil fuels could be recognised as something monstrous. He argues that to consider these films today, in the age of climate change, is to hold up an oily mirror, and asks if Singapore has become an orang minyak.

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Changing Course: Jewel Changi and the Ethics of Aviation

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Mathias Ooi tackles the complicated ethics of aviation in the age of climate change. He contends that while eco-conscious Singaporeans sometimes obsess over individual choices, governments ultimately play a more significant role in shaping the demand for aviation. If we all come together to take a stand, might we change course towards more responsible management of air travel demand?

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Singapore on Fire: From Fossil History to Climate Activism

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Aidan Mock explores Singapore’s intimate relationship with fossil fuels, arguing that understanding this history is critical to the work of environmental activists in Singapore. Mock notes that while oil and gas companies played an important role in the establishment of Singapore post-independence, their continued presence threatens Singapore’s future. He concludes by outlining effective steps that individuals can take to slow climate change.

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Learning to Thrive: Educating Singapore’s Children for a Climate-Changed World

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Drawing on Forest School Singapore and the global earth education movement, Al Lim and Feroz Khan contend that education in Singapore should work to prepare students for the climate-changed world they will inherit, by emphasising transition virtues such as frugality, adaptation, humility, collaboration and systems-thinking.

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Another Garden City is Possible: A Plan for Post-Carbon Singapore

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Bertrand Seah argues that “the climate crisis demands that we rethink what it means to be pragmatic—from the pursuit of growth to the protection of the environment.” He lays out a comprehensive policy vision of a post-carbon Singapore, a New Garden City, which would be achieved by decarbonising Singapore’s transport, energy and finance industries, closing the chapter on Singapore’s oil refineries and embracing degrowth.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/products/chilli-crab#:~:text=%22This%20spirited%20anthology%20connects%20seemingly,%2C%20in%20a%20better%20world.%22 *Ethos Books.* Retrieved 2020-10-05.
2. ↑ https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/blogs/news/chillicrabbookclub *Ethos Books.* Retrieved 2020-10-05