More than 900 millions of perfectly good fruits and vegetables are throw away every year, due to a strict aesthetic standard the produce must adhere to in order to be sold in select stores. This number is staggering, considering the number of families in the United States that do not have enough money to put food on the table for their families. According to Investopedia, two specialists have created an online petition urging Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Whole Foods (NYSE: WFM), two of the United States’ largest grocers, to begin selling less-than-perfect fruits and vegetables. The Change.org petition reads: “In 2013, a staggering 17.5 million households faced hunger. Part of the problem is the prohibitively high price of produce. Many low income American families simply can’t afford fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet, we throw away nearly 26% of all produce before it even reaches the grocery store due mostly to cosmetic standards from large grocers that dictate exactly how fruits and veggies should look. If produce fails to make the grade for size, shape, or color, retailers deem it "ugly" and refuse to sell it in their stores. Billions of pounds of good, healthy produce goes uneaten because it’s not pretty!” The petition also suggests grocers sell the less-than-perfect produce for a discounted price, a technique proved successful in certain European markets. In a country where so many go without proper nutrition, it seems impossible that almost 1 billion tons of perfectly edible food is thrown away annually. Food that isn't spoiled or deemed unfit for human consumption, but, instead, simply isn't as pretty as other foods. For more business and financial news, click here. *This is editorial content and expresses the opinion of the author.