As @Twitter in general, and #BlackTwitter in particular respond to @KekePalmer's tweet, let's abandon the term "food desert." The term obscures the real conditions that food insecure Black folks and poor folks navigate. Instead, let’s use the term “Food Apartheid.” #ABriefThread https://twitter.com/KekePalmer/status/1325786443776729089

Black Woman farmer @karwasher argues that food desert "means nothing. . .people in the hood have never used that term. It’s an outsider term. . .I would rather say ...“food apartheid.” Because it "looks at the whole food system, along with race, geography, faith, and economics."

@Karwasher continues: "You say “food apartheid” and . . . it brings in hunger and poverty. It brings us to the more important question: What are some of the social inequalities that you see, and what are you doing to erase some of the injustices?" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/15/food-apartheid-food-deserts-racism-inequality-america-karen-washington-interview

Indeed, it is important for us to use language that adequately captures the food struggles of Black folks and poor folks. "Food desert" lacks a racial-structural analysis and is largely used by the @USDA. Using the term, as @sangodara put it, "is harmful to our communities."

I'll end with the @Mvmnt4BlkLives: "Many tend to use the term “food desert,” however food apartheid is a much more accurate representation of the structural racialized inequities perpetuated through our current system."

Accurate representations matter. #TalkingFoodJustice