While organizations like The Institute for Simplified Hydroponics work to combat world hunger by introducing people to the advantage of utilizing hydroponics to provide food for their families and community, Americans are wasting approximately $75 billion worth of food annually according to an USDA-funded study.

The study was conducted over an eight-year period and revealed that restaurants, convenience stores and most households could help their bottom line if they learned how to buy, store and use food more effectively.

Anthropologists at the University of Arizona's Bureau of Applied Research Anthropology said "If we wanted to stimulate the economy all we'd have to do is cut food losses."

The study began by analyzing vegetable and fruit growers. In boom and bust commodity markets like in the Salinas Valley, California, where most of the fresh vegetables are grown, farmers plow under crops if prices drop. Losses due to markets account for 18-20% waste.

Apple cultivators might have more cooperative and conservative approach. Careful storing, different uses of apples at various stages of ripeness reduce loss to about 12%.

In retail stores, the least wasteful businesses are small, mom and pop restaurants and grocery stores because they are more tightly managed. Supermarkets try to keep their waste to about 1% by selling ripe fruit and produce at a reduced price.

Fast food chains rank among the highest in food waste. Fast food restaurants' losses can be as high as 40%. This might be due to fewer managers and inadequate employee training.

The average American household discards approximately 14% of their food. This can add up to about $600.00 dollars in loss annually in wasted food.

The solution to this recently discovered epidemic is not to consume food before their expiration date, rather, one should analyze what their family "actually" eats, create menus and store leftovers within hours in small containers and place in the freezer.