I feel extremely privileged to read all the insights into the past coming up in current letters.  Makes me want to write a Paleo book based on interviews, recipes and such.  [I'm currently inventing my own, too, based on Paleo.]
Thanks, everyone, for the in-depth insights.  I'm going to 'folder' all these neat letters.

Diane H.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John D Willis<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
  To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
  Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 5:04 PM
  Subject: Re: Cordain and fat


  >My physiotherapist raised some pigs and tried to avoid feeding them grains
  >but they just wouldn't fatten without the grains. She had to feed them some
  >corn to get some fat on them and still, the butcher teased her about how
  >lean they were. 

  Back in days when I raised hogs if I was going fed them to my family I
  finished them on corn (4 to 6 weeks). Makes a much firmer and sweeter
  tasting fat. I can pick up piece of pork and by feel of the fat tell you if
  was soy based feed or corn based. Wild hogs lack sweet firm fat unless they
  been in farmers corn fields a lot. Lard rendered from corn feed keeps better
  and does not go rancid near as quick. I have raised the hogs and rendered
  the lard but that was long time ago now I am flatland dweller and am stuck
  with what I can buy at super market. Hogs 50 years ago had lot more fat than
  those raised now. My grandfather raised eating hogs and lard hogs. We used
  salt cure hams and bacon then smoke them with no sugar in process. We ate
  lot like Paleo in those days because it was all we had. They all lived in
  upper 80's or into 90"s. Smoked and cooked with lard not a of lot store
  bought flour it cost too much.
  Just the way I remember things

  John