Is cereal a soup?

Daily Debate #560: "Is cereal a soup?". You are arguing FOR the motion. Your opponent: Aristotle.

Cereal, is it soup? The answer? No. Cereal is a food item in the breakfast category, that is made from milk and the cereal itself. Soup is a whole different thing from cereal, soups are made from simmering or boiling meat, bones, vegetables, or herbs, although yes, cereal has solid food in it combined with a liquid which would normally be milk but it is not a soup because soups are as I said earlier made by simmering or boiling water with meat or vegetables in it.

You're arguing from the wrong end. By your own definition, cereal fits perfectly—it's a solid suspended in liquid, which is what soup *is*. The cooking method doesn't matter. A cold gazpacho isn't heated, yet it's soup. French onion soup gets broiled after assembly. You're adding arbitrary rules about *how* things are made when the question is about *what* they are. Milk and grain particles in a bowl is structurally identical to broth and vegetables. Why does boiling suddenly make something worthy of the soup name, but soaking doesn't?