United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials, speaking to the House of Lords Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Farming, United Kingdom, warned that Europe’s refusal to embrace technologies like genetic modification (GM) and nanotechnology in farming could result in European agriculture being left behind. Dr. Roger Beachy, chief scientist at USDA, said “I’m a little surprised and disappointed that agriculture, which began so strong in Europe hasn’t taken a greater leap forward to being a part of the economy that might be if these new technologies and approaches were carried forward.” U.S. officials said both technologies need to be accepted by European Union consumers to allow for “more sustainable agriculture” in the future. Many European countries have opposed the introduction of GM crops, and a moratorium on foods using nanotechnology has been introduced. Committee member Baroness Howarth of Breckland spoke in favor of the U.S. stance, saying that the EU had failed to look objectively at the research on GM. “I think that is likely to happen with other new technologies unless scientists find ways of presenting the information differently and engaging consumers on a different level,” she said.