By: Malachi Constant

Malachi Constant — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:07:29 +0000

Generally when somebody adds something to Wikipedia, they contribute on an article regarding something they’re knowlegable about.

When vandalism happens, it’s usually to an article on a controversial topic, and it’s usually blatant. There are situations, however, in which people who are enthused but not informed edit articles. For example, many video game articles will be edited by young people who are very enthused about them, or people who misunderstand the goals and intentions of Wikipedia. These are the incidents in which copyrighted works are blatantly copied, or immature comments are inserted. A great deal of the uncited claims originate here too.

There are some blatantly biased articles, but I think misunderstandings and easily corrected, blatant vandalism plague Wikipedia a lot more.

That statement of Wikipedia was not cited, and I can see why you’d view it as dodgy. However, an article cited here corroborates the story: http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/fats_crisco.html

This one is cited (in fact, it cites the very same book you do) but it doesn’t say which reference the story of candle wax comes from. While the late Weston A. Price is himself an object of due admiration, I’m not sure I trust the foundation. Ultimately, sourced statements on Wikipedia tend to be reliable, and it’s a research tool for which there is no alternative – even if it’s only used as a directory of links to primary sources.

I can tell you that the story about the candle wax doesn’t come from the little book. Thanks for the info on Wikipedia. It’s always my first online source for info, but I always double check everything I read there unless I already know it to be true.

Cheers–

MRE

By: Mauro S

Mauro S — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:05:22 +0000

You’d probably be amused to check Crisco on the Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco.

An excerpt:

“When William Procter and James Gamble started the company Procter & Gamble, they hired chemist E. C. Kayser and developed the process to hydrogenate cottonseed oil, which ensures the shortening remains solid at normal storage temperatures. The initial purpose was to create a cheaper substance to make candles than the expensive animal fats in use at the time. Electricity began to diminish the candle market, and since the product looked like lard, they began selling it as a food.”

Candles!

Hi Mauro–

I”m not sure I believe what’s written about this in Wikipedia. As I’m sure you know, anyone can add anything and put any definition up on Wikipedia without having any knowledge or supporting information about the subject. I’ve got a little book published in 1913 by the Proctor & Gamble Company entitled ‘The Story of Crisco’ about the development and marketing of Crisco. According to this book Crisco was developed as a substitute for cooking fats common at the time – lard and butter – because the rapidly increasing population was outgrowing its supply of these natural fats. At the time (as is the same now) there was an anti-animal fat bias thanks to John Harvey Kellogg and the other misguided nutritional gurus of the day. As the little book says: “It was the earnest aim of the makers of Crisco to produce a strictly vegetable product without adding a hard, and consequently indigestible animal fat. There is today a pronounced partiality from a health standpoint to a vegetable far, and the lardy, greasy taste of food resulting from the use of animal fat never has been in such disfavor as during the past few years.”

As soon as I get my scanner unpacked and hooked up, I plan on scanning much of this little book into a blog post. It is most interesting.

Best–

MRE

Comments on: Grease is good

By: Malachi Constant

By: Mauro S