I’ve never understood the fear of modified vegetables. Aren’t all hydrids and other selective breeding genetic engineering? So doing it in a lab rather than a field makes the process much faster and more exact. Making new breeds is part of what has make the American farmer so productive and able to feed the world. We have better appearance, taste, and production because of the modification of crops - so what, we’re doing it faster and in a lab instead of in controlled greenhouses that takes decades.
Corn has been heavily worked over genetically for 1000’s of years as I recall.
You are correct, essentially all plants are genetically engineered. The one with the most work is the tomato. Ripe: The search for the perfect tomato by Arthur Allen discusses this in detail.
Maybe it’s because they can do things in the lab that are impossible in the field with simple hybridization?