Context: The mouth and stomach are just two of the organs of the digestive system. Other digestive system organs are the esophagus, small intestine, and large intestine. Below, you can see that the digestive organs form a long tube ( Figure 1.1). In adults, this tube is about 30 feet long! At one end of the tube is the mouth. At the other end is the anus. Food enters the mouth and then passes through the rest of the digestive system. Food waste leaves the body through the anus. The organs of the digestive system are lined with muscles. The muscles contract, or tighten, to push food through the system ( Figure 1.2). The muscles contract in waves. The waves pass through the digestive system like waves through a slinky. This movement of muscle contractions is called peristalsis. Without peristalsis, food would not be able to move through the digestive system. Peristalsis is an involuntary process, which means that it occurs without your conscious control. The liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are also organs of the digestive system ( Figure 1.1). Food does not pass through these three organs. However, these organs are important for digestion. They secrete or store enzymes or other chemicals that are needed to help digest food chemically. The mouth is the first organ that food enters. But digestion may start even before you put the first bite of food into your mouth. Just seeing or smelling food can cause the release of saliva and digestive enzymes in your mouth. This diagram shows how muscles push food through the digestive system. Muscle contractions travel through the system in waves, pushing the food ahead of them. This is called peristalsis. Once you start eating, saliva wets the food, which makes it easier to break up and swallow. Digestive enzymes, including the enzyme amylase, start breaking down starches into sugars. Your tongue helps mix the food with the saliva and enzymes. Your teeth also help digest food. Your front teeth are sharp. They cut and tear food when you bite into it. Your back teeth are broad and flat. They grind food into smaller pieces when you chew. Chewing is part of mechanical digestion. Your tongue pushes the food to the back of your mouth so you can swallow it. When you swallow, the lump of chewed food passes down your throat to your esophagus. The esophagus is a narrow tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. Food moves through the esophagus because of peristalsis. At the lower end of the esophagus, a circular muscle controls the opening to the stomach. The muscle relaxes to let food pass into the stomach. Then the muscle contracts again to prevent food from passing back into the esophagus. Some people think that gravity moves food through the esophagus. If that were true, food would move through the esophagus only when you are sitting or standing upright. In fact, because of peristalsis, food can move through the esophagus no matter what position you are ineven upside down! Just dont try to swallow food when you are upside downyou could choke! The stomach is a sac-like organ at the end of the esophagus. It has thick muscular walls. The muscles contract and relax. This moves the food around and helps break it into smaller pieces. Mixing the food around with the enzyme pepsin and other chemicals helps digest proteins. Water, salt, and simple sugars can be absorbed into the blood from the stomach. Most other substances are broken down further in the small intestine before they are absorbed. The stomach stores food until the small intestine is ready to receive it. A circular muscle controls the opening between the stomach and small intestine. When the small intestine is empty, the muscle relaxes. This lets food pass from the stomach into the small intestine. The small intestine a is narrow tube that starts at the stomach and ends at the large intestine ( Figure 1.1). In adults, the small intestine is about 23 feet long. Chemical digestion takes place in the first part of the small intestine. Many enzymes and other chemicals are secreted here. The small intestine is also where most nutrients are absorbed into the blood. 
 Question: what is the first step in the digestive process?
Output: the release of saliva and digestive enzymes in your mouth