Greg, your memory is faulty.  It was a friend of my dad who was killed by pesticides that are now banned but still used in developing countries.  That was over 50 years ago when there was NO GM crops but lots of highly toxic pesticides.  What we use now is nothing like the things old time farmers used.  

Here's the thing that too many don't understand with this conflation of GM technology and pesticides: the issue isn't the same.  What's key is the trait created by the modification.  Is it disease resistance, as in the papaya, or is it protection against pests? Ashley Lukens loves to bumble these two issues together which results in mass confusion.  She's the reason why small farmers get yelled at for protecting their crops because they are too busy believing her and not learning from a farmer.