If I could have a perfect meal it would begin with a quarter-pounder hamburger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and bacon, all piled on a sesame seed bun. For sides, I would have mashed potatoes with asparagus and a full glass of milk. All of these ingredients were domesticated at one point and have a unique story of how they have become the food on our tables today. The beef for the burger, the milk for the drink, and the cheese for the burger, can all be addressed in the domestication of cattle although secondary domestication of milk came after beef, and cheese came last. According to genetic information cattle was first domesticated in Mesopotamia area sometime between BC 11,000-10,500. Cattle were later hybridized with European species and most of the cattle in the world today are of European species (Ellegren 21-25). Milk is thought to of been in use as early as 6,000 years ago in Neolithic Northern Europe. This early digestion of milk has caused a mutation in certain humans that makes the area more lactose tolerant than areas that did not consume animal milk. Assuming that the cheese is from cows, there is little known about the origins, the popular theory is that it was created as an accident when people left milk out in the hot air. It had to of originated around the same area as milk and cows. The origin of lettuce is believed to come from the Nile River Valley or Mesopotamia. The most popular opinion is that lettuce originated in Southwest Asia, because of the close relations to other wild plants in that area. The domestication occurred somewhere between BC 3000-2,500. The first evidence of lettuce is on Egyptian wall paintings that date back to BC 2,500, but it is not believed to be the origin. Tomatoes originated in the South American Andes. The exact dating is uncertain, but the first evidence of tomato domestication was shown by BC 500 in Mesoamerica. Today most tomatoes in the stores are produced in the New Englan