Much more flavorful? In what way? This strikes me as a really naive perspective on cooking. Also, FYI, “globalization of foods and spices” has been going on since the early days of the Silk Road.
I don't think something like avocados even existed here, or any type of spicy pepper.
I'm a spicehead, and nothing has any at all. Or much say, umami. Meat and potatoes. Meat and green beans. Add salt or bland spice, if you're lucky. It's basically all I ate growing up.
Today I can buy Nashville hot spice in a can, for example.
I'm sure you can find examples of some things existing in some places. But the silk road didn't run through rural midwest.
Edit to add: Speaking of avocados, and complex favors...imagine a perfect guacamole. With avocados, and spicy peppers, garlic, onion, etc. Does a recipe exist for such a thing before say, 1960?
Not the grandparent, but food in the Anglosphere 70 years ago predominantly consisted of "eat to live" meals such as meat and three veg (with way too much salt).
It wasn't until the post-war migration boom when more interesting flavours (Greek, Italian, Indian, Carribean, South American etc.) started appearing on our general palettes.
That said, there are definitely exceptions to the "bland" rule, such as some fantastic old-school British sausages, smoked/cured meats and cheeses.
I'm not sure if you grew up in an Anglicised culture, but "meat and 3 veg" is almost always boiled.