GM says it is investing in a company that makes ethanol economically out of nonfood plant matter. The investment in Boston-based Mascoma comes at a time when the whole ethanol industry, as well as the U.S. government, is under fire for pushing ethanol too fast when it can only be made from corn on a mass scale. That policy has helped drive up the cost of corn, as well as food, and helped, many argue, drive food shortages in developing countries. GM President Fritz Henderson said the investment in the company is because of its "best-in-class microorganisms and enzymes could lead a transformation to a new era of biofuels."