In the wake of a revolting (albeit fictional) lard-rendering scene depicted in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” in which workers fall into vats of hot animal fat and become part of the product, Procter & Gamble presented consumers with Crisco, a supposedly “clean” alternative to lard and beef tallow. It required no time-consuming rendering, and, because it was hydrogenated, no refrigeration. In subsequent decades, bolstered by doctors’ warnings about the supposed dangers of saturated animal fats, hydrogenated vegetable shortening dominated the market, while the very word “lard” became an insult, synonymous with gluttony, excess body fat and heart attacks.