I should point out that a portion of the stat comes from immigrants who are fully literate in their native language.

National literacy as a topic forms an interesting picture that I don’t fully understand.

21% of American adults are illiterate (54% read below a 6th grade level)

17% of Canadian adults are illiterate.

I keep coming back to these points as it’s important context when understanding the news.

I used to be a picky eater, but years ago I decided that I wanted to like more food - - that life would be better if I actually enjoyed foods that I would otherwise have to suffer/avoid.

I started by putting small amounts of different ingredients in my dishes (when it made sense) and I quickly developed a taste for all of them.

(Only found out later that this was a great way to do it as your microbiom directly impacts your cravings).

Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, pickles, brussel sprouts, oysters, mustard are all things I now genuinely enjoy.