The “first wave” of biofuel feedstocks are crops from traditional food sources like corn/sugarcane for bioethanol and coconut/soybean oils from biodiesel. Biofuel crops from cellulosic plant biomass like switchgrass and poplar, constitute the second generation. And recently, the third generation of biofuel crops has become the subject of interest. The Biopact website describes the third generation biofuel feedstocks as biomass or bioenergy crops whose structure or properties are designed or modified to “conform to the requirements of a particular bioconversion process”. Plants with reduced lignin capacity for easier processing of cellulose to bioethanol is one example. Another one is the “Spartan corn” that is being developed and patented by scientists (headed by Prof. Mariam Sticklen) from the University of Michigan. A unique feature of this new corn variety is that the enzymes that degrade plant cellulose into sugars (the basic fermentation material for bioethanol production) are embedded in the plant tissues (leaves and stalks). By having cellulose-degrading enzymes (called “cellulases”) already embedded in the plant, the leaves and stalks can be processed directly into sugars without addition of enzymes, thus reducing the costs of processing. The waste material in plant leaves and stalks has become a “value added commodity”..