It's a direct characterization of the work. "When all you have is a hammer, the world is made of nails." You list solution after solution after solution that can be approached with genetic engineering without acknowledging that genetic engineering is, in no case, the best solution to the problem.

You also act as if the populace of the world suddenly went "HOLY FUCK FRANKENFOOD" when all these luckless biosciences companies were trying to do was save the world. Ockham's Razor does not like your reductionism; prior to Jenny mcCarthy and the CIA, vaccines were A-OK and they actively involve injecting pathogens into your bloodstream. We're dealing with more than a "PR nightmare" we're dealing with selfish and impure actions by large corporations that view the subjects of their benevolence with apathy at best and ill will at worst.

The Irish potato famine was caused by monoculture. The approach to solving the Irish potato famine does not involve breeding a more disease-resistant strain of potato, the approach involves planting a few dozen more varieties of potatoes. So whether or not "rice gruel" is a balanced part of a basic 3rd world breakfast, "rice gruel and a little sweet potato" solves the problem more handily than "Golden Rice Gruel, a Syngenta Product, All Rights Reserved, Void Where Prohibited."