Cereal Numbers

"In 1970, Choate, who had been involved in campaigns against poverty and hunger, made headlines when he testified on nutrition information for consumers at a Senate subcommittee hearing in Washington. Using data provided by the manufacturers, he ranked Sugar Smacks, Froot Loops, Lucky Charms and 57 other popular cereals by their nutritive value and found that 40 offered such poor nourishment that they were essentially empty calories.
"The cereal industry attacked his findings as misguided and erroneous, but within a year the nutritional content of the majority of the products on his widely publicized list had been boosted to respectable levels."

Elaine Woo writes an obit in the Los Angeles Times for consumer advocate Robert B. Choate.