On the whole I agree with you there, the burden of proof should be high (its very similar to vaccine development in this respect).

My view with this area of development, is that we are going to have to find ways to feed everyone during a century where population is increasing and the amount of land and fresh water for crops is reducing.

GMO and related pesticides are a spectacular way to do this. Us in high-income countries can fight against this because ultimately we’re always going to be largely fine either way, but development in this area is really going to be essential to avoid famine elsewhere. It’s really hard. I’m not arguing that we avoid the safety side, but instead trust in the scientific consensus, which currently has this product as a safe way to farm (much safer than the pesticide we used to use). Yes, science can be sometimes corrupted by big business but it is the only system of knowing that we have at our disposal.