farmer john dicus came up with the idea, and the rest, as they sa is history. >> it's really healthy. it's an environmentally friendly type plant. it doesn't require quite as much water, nutrients as another plant would for the same amount of food value that you get from it. it's a healthy plant. we eat it for ourselves just for the health that it gives. so it seemed to be a natural plant to share. > though they may look the same to us, there are actually about 400 varieties of cacti, and while not all are edible, john does grow an edible variety called nopalea grande. during peak season, he is shipping upwards of 3,000 pounds of the plant at a time, and while some go to pet-food stores for tortoises to enjoy, most of the plants here are used for human consumption. so john has a grading system he uses when harvesting. >> we have several different grades, depending on what the consumer wants. this is grade-a, tender, beautiful, exquisite, baby-vegetable cactus, shipped with ultimate care in packing. this would be grade-b, also for the gourmand, but a little larger. not as much packing