I have a hypothesis. What if this were agave root, but bathed/stored in something that broke down the cellulose. This would give a second reason they cut only a

I have a hypothesis. What if this were agave root, but bathed/stored in something that broke down the cellulose. This would give a second reason they cut only an outside layer, in addition to being against the grain. Also it would explain the secrecy as the chemicals might be harmful.