Duggars' Mom, Michelle, Thinks Overpopulation Is A Lie

Michelle Duggar, star of TLC's reality show, "19 Kids and Counting", says there needs to be more children because our world needs more joy. And as for overpopulation? That's just a lie, Duggar recently told the Christian Broadcasting Network in a web interview. "The idea of overpopulation is not accurate," Duggar says, because the entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida.

"I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, 'to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers,'" Duggar said.

She explains how her large family is resourceful and therefore not posing as big of an environmental problem as perceived. They buy used cars, she says, and frequently shop at thrift stores, purchasing things others would discard of.

Jezebel's Erin Gloria Ryan points out that, even so, "A family of three or four would practically have to prance around throwing a trail of styrofoam packing peanuts in their wake to leave the same sort of carbon footprint that the Duggars leave." By our rough calculations, the family uses over 1,000 roles of toilet paper each year.

Duggar backs up her claim by highlighting other countries -- whose death rates outnumber their birthrates -- that come to America's doorstep to ask to let their people know that they need to have more children.

So instead of being "deceived" by the idea of overpopulation, "we need to focus on loving people and trying to reach out and make a difference for good in our world," Duggar says.