I enjoy a different kind of grind then they implemented here. One system I've seen in another game had levels just like this in which things can be made or gathered at certain levels. Though instead of grinding for a set amount of xp using and making thousands of items it was almost a lottery of getting points towards the level using fewer materials at a slower rate of gathering. A much more pleasing way to level.
Not sure if this falls under a suggestion or just a day dream that will never be, but I'm bored so here comes one hell of a text wall!
In this system you can fail at making the crafted item. They also allowed you access to much higher stuff then you have a realistic chance at making/gathering. These chances at gathering or crafting were reduced to almost nothing of course depending how high you tried to over reach. Though the more risk you take the better the chances at winning the point lottery of getting towards higher levels.
Lets say you're level 1 and you are picking apples from a tree, you pick 10 apples but on maybe the 7th apple you get 1 point out of 10 for that level, because maybe that apple was ridiculously awesome, or super high up there and you achieved a feat of awesomeness by getting to that apple.
*If this recurred every time on the 7th apple it would have only taken 70 apples to gain a level instead of maybe 700 in the current system. By limiting the number of resources needed it also creates less of a headache on gathering hundreds and hundreds of the item.
*They would also want to add failure in the gathering also, so you may attempt to get 70 apples but only get 35, just to add a bit more time to the grind, though I think it the end it will be visually pleasing only having to get 70 instead of 700 to level.
In this system there would have to be a major overhaul on how stuff works, but it may be beneficial in the end instead of flooding the market with hundreds of the same item while trying to gain experience. Instead the person may get lucky and go 10 for 10 on making a copper dagger and hit level 2 or he could have a bad day and need to make 30.
Foraging and food maybe be a bit different though, because the items are consumable and you need many of them, you'd end up out leveling an item before you we're done making enough. But that is why instead of letting them continue to get xp on a lower level item you cap it, so that lv1 tree only lets you hit lv2-3 before no longer giving you a chance at improvement. So to improve you'd have to move on or just make what you need.
I'm sure I've missed a few things but that is why I don't develop games. I just enjoy playing them.
In the end its all a grind, and the problem here may just be a mental thing, if I were to say you only need 70 apples to achieve level 2 instead of 700 what would you rather do? Even if it did take the same amount of time.
You may say that you use 700 apples to make 350 potions and that you'd use them all, but they could re-balance such things, maybe that 1 apple makes 2-3 potions.