The ‘citizen lobbyist’ who waged war on cereals
1924–2009
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Choate was an unlikely crusader,” said the Los Angeles Times. A Boston Brahmin who favored tweeds and bow ties, he was related to the founder of the Choate School, a “Connecticut preppy bastion.” After graduating from Phillips Exeter and U.C.-Berkeley, he became a successful construction engineer and real estate investor in Arizona. While recovering from a bout of hepatitis, he used his downtime to read, and found himself “profoundly affected by an autobiography of Walter White, an early leader of the NAACP.” From that point on, he dedicated himself to social justice, founding welfare programs in Arizona and an anti-establishment magazine called Reveille. “A bit of a scalawag,” Choate also touted—with limited success—freshly squeezed Arizona orange juice over better-known California brands. By the 1960s he had moved to Washington, D.C., as a consultant to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
In 1969, Choate helped launch the Senate Select Subcommittee on Nutrition and Human Needs, which gave him a public platform, said The Washington Post. Testifying before the committee on the nutritional value of breakfast cereals, he said that 40 of the 60 leading brands were merely “empty calories.” Based on their vitamin, mineral, and protein content, he counted General Mills’ Total and Kellogg’s Product 19 among the best. “But he said Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Frosted Flakes, and General Mills’ Cheerios and Wheaties ranked among the worst.” An outraged cereal industry claimed his data was flawed. But a public outcry soon erupted and the media took notice: Newsweek headlined an article about his crusade “Snap, Crackle, Flop.” Thanks to Choate, it wasn’t long before “nutritional labels began appearing on cereal boxes.”
Choate continued to work on consumer and poverty issues for the rest of his life. He died last week of a medical condition that prevented him from swallowing.
-
Political cartoons for February 16Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include President's Day, a valentine from the Epstein files, and more
-
Regent Hong Kong: a tranquil haven with a prime waterfront spotThe Week Recommends The trendy hotel recently underwent an extensive two-year revamp
-
The problem with diagnosing profound autismThe Explainer Experts are reconsidering the idea of autism as a spectrum, which could impact diagnoses and policy making for the condition
-
Catherine O'Hara: The madcap actress who sparkled on ‘SCTV’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’Feature O'Hara cracked up audiences for more than 50 years
-
Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
-
Brigitte Bardot: the bombshell who embodied the new FranceFeature The actress retired from cinema at 39, and later become known for animal rights activism and anti-Muslim bigotry
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
R&B singer D’AngeloFeature A reclusive visionary who transformed the genre
-
Kiss guitarist Ace FrehleyFeature The rocker who shot fireworks from his guitar
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film FestivalFeature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
