Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday characterized by religious observances and a traditional meal that includes turkey. In Charles Mann's National Geographic article, America Found and Lost, he discusses the first known Thanksgiving holiday dinner in English America. It was celebrated December 4, 1619, at Berkely Hundred, a brand new plantation about thirty miles west of James Town. During the first Thanksgiving dinner the colonists ate a rather large feast which most likely involved the consumption of turkey meat. This is believed to be true based on the fact that the wild turkey was more than abundant in the region and a common food source for both English settlers and Native Americans. At the time, turkeys were undomesticated animals that ate the natural food sources available to them in the wild. This is no longer the case with turkeys and other poultry used for human consumption. Since 1996, animal agriculture farmers have been feeding their livestock genetically modified grains such as corn and oilseeds. The multiple processes in which birds are produced and distributed have also changed dramatically over the years. This has also inevitably led to a significant increase in levels of consumption of poultry products on a global scale. All these factors have led to the stimulation of the economies of many countries, but have also caused an increase in the need for genetically modified feed to maintain the balance between supply and demand. Poultry production is a very important and diverse component of North American agriculture. Poultry products, including eggs, chicken and turkey, have been an essential part of the diet of most Americans throughout history and other individuals around the world. November 21, 2013. Smith, Andrew. "Industrialized Turkey". Turkey: An American Story. Illinois: Library of Congress, 2006. 93-105. Print."Processing time in Türkiye." Throwback to Trapper Creek. Np, nd Web. November 23, 2013. "USDA ERS - Poultry and Eggs: Media Resources: Turkish Market." USDA ERS - Poultry and Eggs: Media Resources: Turkish Market. Np, nd Web. November 23, 2013. "USDA ERS - Poultry and Eggs: Trade." USDA ERS - Poultry and Eggs: Trade. Np, nd Web. November 23. 2013. .