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I don't think the commonly understood meaning of the term 'Genetic
Engineering' would include selective breeding. Plug that term into any
search engine and you come up with links to biotechnology. When
Greenpeace has a campaign against GE foods, they aren't referring to
hybrids. But how about using the term 'Genetically Modified Organism'
(GMO)? That's the term the FDA uses in their organic standards.

A GMO is created by:
"A variety of methods used to genetically modify organisms or influence
their growth and development by means that are not possible under
natural conditions or processes and are not considered compatible with
organic production. Such methods include cell fusion, microencapsulation
and macroencapsulation, and recombinant DNA technology (including gene
deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the
position of genes when achieved by recombinant DNA technology). Such
methods do not include the use of traditional breeding, conjugation,
fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, or tissue culture.”

Full Text at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards/FullText.pdf

'Selective breeding' as done by Mendel and countless others would fall
in the category of traditional breeding.

I think the biotech industry tries to sell itself to the public as being
no different than traditional plant breeders. As in the magazine ads
showing a woman out in a field in front of a farmhouse. But, it's just
not the same. To go back to the original post, a fish would just never
cross it's DNA with a tomato!