It’s not because just over half of US adults read at below a sixth grade reading level. A word like “apartheid” is too complicated for them. Even “food desert” is probably a difficult concept for them because they probably read it as “dessert.” Even if its technically more fitting, if the majority of people still don’t understand it, it’s a losing concept on getting others to take it more seriously.
Unfortunately you have to speak to people in words they understand, and a massive amount of people in the US hardly understand anything. I think the last election proved that without a shadow of the doubt, if COVID hadn’t already.
Why ‘Food Apartheid’ Is a Better Term Than ‘Food Desert’