That, and the only readily available form of lard stinks of rancid hog.

Approximately nobody has access to high quality leaf lard like the food blogs champion.

Chefs use animal fats all the time. They think about cooking temperature, flavor, etc to make decisions.

Ever spread lard on toast? Do you prefer croissants made with lard? Is everyone's favourite dish these days lard chicken (I mean the Indian dish, not the Soul Food dish, which is of course popular in some locales).

Nope. Butter is favoured because it tastes unctuous. Nothing to do with Big Cow or any special interest lobby local to certain valleys in the USA. Except maybe Big Bacon Drippings, because if there's one thing better for a grill cheese than butter it's bacon grease (thick-sliced sourdough bread, sharp Cheddar cheese, a shmear of chili crisp)

Now, suet has been demonized to the point that nobody makes suet pudding any more. A shame, really.

Excuse me? The trendiest of restaurants around me advertise that they have beef fat fried fries/potatoes.