This is higly correlated with regulatory laws governing agriculture in US and Europe.
EU has much more strict policies, limits on pesticide use, no GMO rule, plus specific laws to protect traditional (sometimes centuries old) product recipies from being faked by inustrial-scale producers, replacing natural ingredients with chemicals.
That's why food generaly tastes much better in Europe.
Your first comment doesn't square with my (limited) experience with bread. Making bread from wholemeal organic flour versus non organic makes a big difference. You can see, smell and taste it, and if you were nearby I'd bake you two loaves and ask you to rate each. However this isn't a true compassion as the manufacturing processes are sure to be different. My theory is that there is less wild yeast in the nonnorganic flour, but the real reason may differ.
How is natural vanillin any better than synthetic vanillin? Matter is matter. Organic molecules are identical whether a plant produced them or a chemist.
Not the parent, but that's a good example : I cook with vanilla sticks sometimes, and it's just 100x more flavorful: I can leave the vanilla stick "marinate" overnight in my preparation and the flavor will be much different than pouring vanilla extract (real or synthetic). Synthetic vanilla sticks simply do not exist, and I think the impurities and other things in those vanilla sticks contribute to the taste.
Vanilin itself is a good example of the exact same molecules, but for instance I remember on chemistry class discussing banana flavor extract: it tastes "like banana" but it's not actually the same chemical component. Making a cake with that chemical and labeling it banana bread could be done and probably won't taste the same.
EU has much more strict policies, limits on pesticide use, no GMO rule, plus specific laws to protect traditional (sometimes centuries old) product recipies from being faked by inustrial-scale producers, replacing natural ingredients with chemicals.
That's why food generaly tastes much better in Europe.