None of this is true at all. You need a basic kitchen with a stove, a few pots and pans, a good knife and a cutting board. The rest is pretty much optional, and you can find everything you need at a thrift shop if necessary. Yes, there are food deserts, but at least there's now grocery delivery if no other option is available. When I was a kid we lived in a small town and had to drive elsewhere to do our shopping. It was still much cheaper than not cooking.

I don't know what kind of cooking you do, but many nights, it only takes me 10-15 minutes to prepare dinner. When I spend more time, it's because I want to. I can throw together a bed of greens and onions with goat cheese crumbles and dressing and throw a piece of cooked salmon on it in no time at all. I can prepare a pasta sauce in the time it takes the pot of water to boil, and I can mostly clean up the kitchen while the pasta cooks. I can start a pot of rice and while that's going, I can prepare black beans and a few toppings for individual tex-mex bowls. If you are demanding a cheese souffle every night, yeah, that will take longer, I guess.