http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard
As you can see, while lard has lower saturated fat than butter, it has higher saturated fat than every other comparable substance. It is also not exactly practical to make your own lard, especially if it is considered so important to monitor the diet of the pig.
Lard itself is available. This article is touting the merits of lard (debatable to say the least) but also suggesting that for the best lard you need to make your own. That’s just not practical.
This is from the blog, "Homesick Texan" and anyone that cooks, bakes, cans, should not find it difficult to make.
"But the best thing about lard is that it’s not bad for you. It has less saturated fat (the bad fat) than butter, while it also has more than twice as much monosaturated fat (the good fat) than butter. And it has none of those pesky trans fats—that is, if it hasn’t been hydrogenated to prolong its shelf life.
And that, my friends, is the problem. Most lard you find at the grocery store has been hydrogenated to make it shelf stable indefinitely, which robs it of its good qualities. Some butchers will sell freshly rendered lard that has not been hydrogenated (clue: if it’s not refrigerated than it’s not the good kind of lard), but it’s also quite simple to render it yourself."
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-render-lard.html
“It is also not exactly practical to make your own lard, especially if it is considered so important to monitor the diet of the pig.
Lard itself is available. This article is touting the merits of lard (debatable to say the least) but also suggesting that for the best lard you need to make your own. That’s just not practical.”
We know every bite our hogs have ever taken. And after we butcher one behind the shed, we render the lard. The original article seems pretty optimistic in the time involved, we usually let it render overnight at least. A large crockpot of roaster oven works even better than the oven. We pour it hot into canning jars, seal, and put it in the basement where it stays cool all year.
Maybe not practical for the typical supermarket shopping maven who is feeding their family chemicals, but for those of us who swear by home grown, natural foods, it is just part of the overall lifestyle.