I help run a very small, very un-profitable family apple farm in Eastern Connecticut, and I can assure you, there is nothing consumeristic or excess about it. It is only slightly cheaper to go out and pick your own, but 80% of our customers would rather have the experience. The orchard is a beautiful place, from bloom in the spring to the apples in the fall to the bare trees in the winter. This week, we have kindergarden classes coming for field trips, where we will show them the difference between a Cortland and a McIntosh, teach them how the cider press works, and cut open an apple to show the "star" inside. If you think showing kids a picture of a tree, a video of a cider press and apples from the grocery store is just a good, then you have never been a child. We don't have a fancy checkout, hundreds of "value added" products, or tractor rides. But if you want to know why people enjoy picking their own apples, try a real farm - Allyn's Red Barn Orchard and Store.