Smooth vs. chunky peanut butter: It’s an age-old debate that never ceases to rev our engines and inspire heated arguments. As major peanut butter fans here at HuffPost Taste, we think it’s important to keep the debate alive and active, to encourage new voices and opinions on the matter and to stimulate intelligent and thoughtful conversation on what we believe is a matter of national, and indeed global, significance.

According to the National Peanut Board, every year Americans spend almost $800 million on peanut butter. We’re consuming more than a billion pounds of the stuff each year. With 90 percent of households consuming peanut butter in the U.S., it’s clear that peanut butter really is about as American as apple pie. So what kind of peanut butter do Americans prefer?

Whether you call it smooth or creamy, the kind without the chunks is the chosen favorite among Americans. The National Peanut Board states that a full 60 percent of Americans prefer smooth to chunky. The National Peanut Board also claims that women opt for smooth, while men lean toward chunky.

We at HuffPost Taste have to admit we side with the majority. Smooth peanut butter is creamy, which means it spreads easier on bread, and it mixes better into desserts and smoothies. Smooth peanut butter also lends itself to being licked from a spoon. (You know you’re guilty, too.) Still, we acknowledge there is a time and place for chunky peanut butter, and we’re not alone.

Musician Charlie Daniels likes the chunky stuff:

Just had a banana and crunchy peanut butter sandwich

— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) August 2, 2012

And Michael Bloomberg once told the New York Post that his last meal would be a chunky peanut butter sandwich… with bacon, no less.

I always said if I had one breakfast to eat before I die, it would be Wonder Bread toasted, with Skippy Super Chunky melted on it, slices of overripe banana and fresh crisp bacon.

It’s a rare occasion, however, that we would choose chunky over smooth. Most creamy peanut butter lovers, it seems, aren’t as open-minded. At least on Twitter, people feel quite strongly that smooth is superior to chunky:

My mom just said that my attitude is going to put me in jail one day
Literally all I asked for was smooth peanut butter instead of crunchy

— Dylan ▲ (@ughdylankubeny) July 17, 2014

Seriously if you prefer crunchy peanut butter over regular I can only assume you are a communist and support socialist economic practices.

— Eric Frohnapfel (@FrosBeforeHoes) July 15, 2014

Owning chunky peanut butter should be illegal

— Evan Foster (@MuFosta_) July 22, 2014

Guys I try so hard to like chunky peanut butter but I just can’t

— Kellen Moss (@kellenmoss) July 14, 2014

Don’t ask me about politics. I stopped trying to understand the world when I learned some people prefer chunky peanut butter.

— Master of Sarcasm (@tmasterfsarcasm) July 12, 2014

I CAN’T DATE SOMEONE THAT LIKES CHUNKY PEANUT BUTTER LIKE ID RATHER CUT MU TOES OFF

— giasuS || 17 (@larrywhut) June 30, 2014

So where do you stand? Do you prefer smooth or chunky? It’s a critical debate and you owe it to yourself and your country to participate. Let us know what your favorite is and why in the comments.

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As hard as it is for me to believe this, I’m the mother of a teenager. In fact, Tom will be entering 10th grade this September.

The years have gone so fast that I really feel as if one day I was taking pictures of him graduating from our Mommy and Me class, the next day I couldn’t believe he was in the fourth grade, and then bang, he was in high school.

Playdates at friends’ houses have been replaced by going out for sushi, a movie, or walking around town with his buddies. Alone. No adults watching over them.

Instead of chatting with his friends’ parents over coffee at kitchen tables, we wave to them out of car windows.

The times they are a-changin’.

Whenever my family or friends ask about Tom and marvel at the fact that he is now a teenager, the subject of alcohol and drugs always seems to come up. As in, how will I handle it when he comes home drunk for the first time? Or what will I do if I find out that he’s been using drugs?

I always find the questions a bit baffling, because it’s just assumed that Tom will try these things. In fact, the common answer I get from most of my friends and family is that of course he will.

Truth be told, I find this mindset maddening. And if I were a kid today, I would find it really confusing.

From the time Tom was in kindergarten, he has been learning in school that drinking and drugs are dangerous choices. He has read books and been shown movies about how alcohol can affect your judgment and make it easier to engage in other risky behaviors like unprotected sex or driving under the influence.

In eighth grade, his health teacher made the whole class write letters addressed to themselves making the promise that they wouldn’t smoke, drink or have unprotected sex in high school.

Yet so many parents take it as a foregone conclusion that their kids will engage in any manner of risky behavior.

I’ve been accused of living in “La La Land” if I think otherwise. “Kids will be kids,” some say. Others will chime in with, “after all, we did it.”

Really? Are these the criteria we are going to base our parenting on?

I get it. My son is growing up, and he’s going to have to make choices for himself.

I want him to spread his wings and discover who he is. And as much as some people think I’m living under a rock, I do know that he is going to make mistakes along the way.

But, I want him to know where I stand on engaging in behaviors that are at best risky and at worst illegal or life-threatening.

I never want my son to say that I wasn’t clear about my feelings — so I’m writing them out here, for all to see.

Dear Tom,

The legal drinking age in this country is 21. Please know that dad and I will never allow you to have alcohol in our house or in our presence until you reach that age. Please also know that no good has ever come from a group of teenagers drinking. It’s a recipe for all kinds of disasters.

If you should choose to drink, you’ll not only be breaking the rules of our house, you’ll be breaking the law.

If you get stopped for driving under the influence, or the police get called to a party where you have been drinking, you may be in a position where we can’t protect you.

Always call me and your dad. ALWAYS. No matter what you have done.

Don’t ever follow up a bad choice with one that’s worse just because you’re afraid of disappointing us or making us angry.

Will we be happy? Of course not. But we would much rather get you and any friend who wants to come with you home safely, than get a call saying you are NEVER coming home.

Let me be clear that the fact that we love you and will stand by you does not in any way mean we will stand by while you do things that you know aren’t good for you.

There are those who will tell you that your parents are being unreasonable and totally unrealistic. Some may tell you that you are a teenager and it’s a rite of passage to get drunk. They may even regale you with stories of their own youthful mistakes.

Listen to your own heart and trust your gut. Also know there is nothing cool about waking up in your own vomit, or having a DUI before you are 18.

Your father and I are so proud of the man you are becoming. We love you so much that we don’t care if you hate us. That’s our gift to you — we are your parents, not your friends.

Always,

Mom

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BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge says a political candidate whose last name is Hershey must stop using campaign materials that mimic the look of the famous chocolate bar.

The judge ruled Thursday that Maryland state Sen. Stephen Hershey Jr. must stop using his dark brown signs with white lettering. The company filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in June.

Hershey argued his signs, with a background of the Maryland flag in brown, are different enough to be permissible.

Judge William Quarles disagreed and issued a preliminary injunction, suggesting the company is likely to win its lawsuit.

Hershey said in a statement that he will comply with the injunction. His office has said Hershey has been told his family tree intersects with that of company founder Milton S. Hershey, but they aren’t close relatives.