Big bad GMO solved world hunger! With precision modification, scientists developed crops that are more resilient and feed people in places where it was formerly impossible to grow anything.
But ignorance breeds fear and so we have activists who might not have a good understanding what gene modification actually is. That does not stop them declaring it the plague though.
Some time ago I stumbled upon a podcast where a geneticist was talking about his work in a high profile agricultural company's research department. One of the things he had most trouble dealing with, was how they are portrayed like the devils, trying to kill babies with their murder crops. In reality they are just some very smart people dedicating their life to make sure as many people as possible have access to proper nutrition.
I don't know if it's applicable to everyone - as there are companies which produces infertile seeds* - but you are right about the fact that many applications of GMO are for increasing the product yield, therefore decreasing world hunger.
*: I live in Turkey, many types of imported seeds are sold here and they are engineered to be infertile. For example, you have an imported tomato seed. You plant it and you get your tomato, right? And normally you can use some of the seeds from your new tomatoes to keep producing tomato, but with these engineered seeds the tomatoes grow up seedless or with infertile seeds I suppose. So you become dependent to seed selling companies, etc. Long story short, not every engineered organism is modified with benevolence in mind.
Where are the places where it's ever been impossible to grow anything? Even in areas of extremes of climate there are plants which have adapted to the environment, the question is whether they are edible by humans or whether people chose not to eat them. I'm hardly a person to demonise scientific achievements but the fact is that a lot of the world hunger you're talking about is a man made problem especially in countries around the tropics where there isn't a limited growing season.
Also anyone who thinks that the main objective of any scientist is purely invention and exploration for purely benevolent reasons needs to take a step back and take another look at their faith in scientists as some kind of godlike humans. If there was no monetary incentive in science why would these people do it?
Lastly, if you consider the Gaia hypothesise then wouldn't GMOs have an adverse effect in the long term?
And in the case of the mosquitoes which have been genetically modified to go extinct because they spread disease, what will the long term consequence of their extinction be on the entire food chain which they belong to?
I will just address the point about worshiping scientists.
They do it because they can't do otherwise. Ofc there are greedy assholes in all professions, but the majority is not in it for the money. And there is very simple reason behind it -- there is no money in science! No person ever went into science because they saw it as an incredibly lucrative option. No, just the contrary. They know that they will earn barely enough to make a living. Most of them do it because they are just so goddamn fascinated by it and some because they feel the sense of mission.