He admits that it is not simple to pull the sugars out of non-food material like pulp or wood waste, but says that even factoring in the extraction process, the final cost should be lower than using corn starch or sugar cane, both of which are much higher-priced commodities.

FORBES: Cobalt Technologies Pushes The Green Chemical Envelope

For example, the Amazon pupunha-a is a fruit that can yield twice as much starch as Iowa corn, and the Amazonian babassu palm gives the world's highest yield of vegetable oil.

ECONOMIST: Growth and geography