"Savvy farmers all over the country have discovered a practice that might not work as a nationwide agricultural policy, but that has allowed some economically inefficient orchards to thrive," writes Daniel Gross. "Encourage yuppies and their progeny to come pick your fruit—they'll pay handsomely for the privilege, buy more than they'd ordinarily consume, and then shell out for all sorts of other value-added products. It's the best use of child labor since Manchester's early 19th-century textile mills."
That seems about right. I went apple picking a few weeks ago, and now have somewhere around 35 apples slowly rotting in my cupboard. I don't even really like apples. But the day was nice, and I spent most of it happily launching apples at my roommates from the cover of the trees, so it was basically worth it.
