The Soup Dilemma

Dear readers, there is a question that has plagued my mind for a number of days now, and I really do need an answer. I've discussed it with a number of people but an answer has still not been reached. The question:

Do you eat soup, or do you drink it?

You might think "well, you eat it, don't you!" Yes, but then soup is a liquid and, traditionally, liquids are drank. So does this mean that you drink soup? It should, but then...

You use a spoon with soup; you don't use a spoon to drink, do you? I've never known anyone who drinks a cup of tea with a spoon. And soup can be classed as a meal, which must mean it's food; and food, such as it is, is eaten.

Do you see my confusion? I really want to know whether you're supposed to eat it or drink it. I mean, it's pretty safe to say that a stew is eaten because it's got lumps of food in it. Food that has to be chewed. You don't chew soup, so do you drink it?

Perhaps we should just stick with a more ambiguous verb and say that it's slurped, or even that it's consumed.