Not sure if we have any processing that makes food less digestible and decreases surface area but it would be interesting to compare this kind of processing with the other.
An interesting thing that I've noticed, is that pork fats seem to vary in their solidifying temperature. If I get pork from the supermarket, the fat resolidifies at room temperature rather quickly. If I get pork from a local farm, it can take all night to resolidify at room temperature. I'm thinking the quality of the pork feed may be affecting the health properties of the fat (higher saturated fat tends to equal higher solidity). Obviously it's still bad if one overeats it, but maybe we could get some health benefits from looking at the quality of the fats through things like animal feeds and living condidtions.
No, frozen and dried stuff are fine. I don't get the obsession with freshness when talking about healthy food.
I think it is well understood by interested people that indulging in cream-filled chocolate snack cakes will lead to bad outcomes.
But what is your beef with pork shoulders?