Would you like a little sugar with your plastic? Yes, plastic contains sugar! It also has another ingredient that is THE most important one. See what it is here...

BASF Will Join Venture to Make Plastics for Sugar

""Renmatix, based in King of Prussia, Pa., is one of several start-ups that have been pursuing a cost-effective replacement for fossil fuels from non-edible crops, amid mounting concerns about high oil prices and global warming over the past decade. ""

I did not know sugar was used/could be used in the manufacturing of plastic. We under-appreciate the significance of chemistry/science in the production of, well, just about everything.

The use of science in the pursuit of lowering the cost of producing has a three-fold effect: (1) better utilizes societal resources in a more efficient way (2) increases profits, and (3) lowers prices for consumers. 

However,  HOW this research actually gets conducted is what most interests me:

""Renmatix, which is backed by the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has raised $70 million.""

This particular research and development would not take place without this outside financial capital from this (or any other) firm.  Venture capital is vital for funding innovation "at the margin" of the marketplace. Innovations that have potential but in general are "not quite there" yet.  It is investment that, by definition, is very risky. 

Where does this investment capital come from that helps deliver to YOU goods that are better, cheaper and more widely available?

That is a rhetorical question. I know the answer, and so do you.  Many others know it too but don't want to acknowledge it.  Even they get to enjoy the fruits of venture capital without a nod to where it came from...