University professor Ron Wood is eating a meal from each of the countries represented by the G20. (Timothy Neesam/CBC)

For Ron Wood, a tamale speaks legions about Mexico — and contains an economic lesson for the G20.

"Once you peel back the layers, so much is revealed," says Wood of the ancient Mexican dish, a corn mixture stuffed with meat or vegetables, then steamed inside a husk or banana leaf.

Starting Monday morning and continuing for seven days, the OCAD University professor is eating a meal from each of the countries in the Group of 20, representing the world's major economies and includes 19 countries plus the European Union.

Wood, 59, of Toronto blogs about each meal at G20eats.blogspot.com, detailing the food, the price and the economic or political lesson inherent in the meal. Key to each meal is authenticity and a fiscally responsible low-price point.

For his first meal, Wood savoured a French-style breakfast — a cafe au lait and a buttery croissant — while mulling the country's renowned food excesses compared with its calls for regulatory trimming of global economic extravagances.

Canada's meal — and lesson — was an easier one to swallow: Canadian peameal bacon on a bun at the St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto.

"Nothing fancy here. What you see is what you get," Wood writes. "This modest sandwich reflects the Canadian fiscal approach that kept us from joining a whole bunch of other countries in the deep economic pit during the last year and [a] half."

The United States meal took Wood and his wife, Annie, to the all-American Dairy Queen. "In that case, the ice cream was the indulgence,” said Wood.

Owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the chain has thousands of stores in 19 countries.

"Look at my two ice cream choices," Wood remarks in the blog, beside a picture of a large cone and an even larger cone. "Guess which one represents the American deficit and the deficits of countries globally. Maybe austerity is a good idea."

Something lighthearted

The idea for the humorous blog arose from a desire for something lighthearted in the midst of constant grim news about preparations for the high-security meeting on June 26-27.

Both Wood's workplaces — OCAD University, where he teaches basic photography at what was formerly known as the Ontario College of Art and Design, and his office for his wedding photography business — are on the edge of the forbidding security perimeter fences set up to protect world leaders attending the G20.

"The news and everywhere we look is G20."

For each blog entry, Wood visits the restaurants with his wife, Annie, a designer with whom he also shares his Richmond Street West studio and collaborates with on projects.

"I love food. Annie and I always talked about food tied to the economies of the country," says Wood.

"Everything is talked about over food.... A lot of things are revealed over food," adds Wood, noting the main decisions at the summit will probably be made during the leaders' many working meals.

The couple, best friends who have known each other since Grade 9, worked together to come up with foods to fit each economic powerhouse. The biggest two challenges were finding breakfasts from seven countries and figuring out a meal that represented the European Union. (A European-style smorgasbord may be the solution, says Wood.)

For the Mexican meal, it is the corn, a staple in the populous country, that intrigued Wood the most. A ban on selling genetically engineered corn in the country was recently reversed, triggering fears the GM seeds could alter the genetics of the prized native cereal crop.

At the bustling Latin America Emporium in the heart of Kensington Market, Ron and Annie dig into a variety of maize-based dishes, tamales — baby corn, chicken and pork — and some flautitas pollo, or fried corn tacos, and consider the corn-related economic implications on the country.

In the end, food security is likely one of the many topics Wood fears won't be on the G20 table.

"I'm not optimistic about the G20 coming away with anything. I think my writing will benefit a lot more," he says, smiling.