Sage, you might find this article titled "Heaven in a Pie Pan: The Perfect Crust" from the NYTimes interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/di...rssnyt&emc=rss
In it, the author tested a variety of fats to see which one created the perfect pie crust. She even rendered fat from other animals to see how they competed. Very interesting article.