A 'quiverfull' of babies

So Michelle Duggar just had her 19th baby last night.  The little girl was very premature, weighing in at only 1 lb 6 oz.  It is her and Jim Bob's ninth daughter.

So now Michelle and Jim Bob have a daughter who is younger than their first grandchild.  Whatever, it happens.  The ages in my combined family are sort of wacky too, given the age difference between my husband and me.  There is something about the Duggars that really bothers me, and it took me a while to put my finger on it.

The Duggars believe in the Quiverfull Movement, that is, they will have as many children as God wants them to have.  As someone who experienced postpartum depression, the thought of having this many children makes me ill with terror.  I also can't imagine what is must be like when the stomach flu hits the Duggar household.

Although my natural reaction is to recoil from such fervent shows of evangelical Christianity, this is not what truly bothers me.  Now obviously, all we see of the Duggars is what they show on TLC, which I'm quite sure is highly edited.  However, one would think that if there were truly some problems in the family, we'd hear about it somehow.  No, I believe that the children are happy and well cared-for.  I don't agree with what they are teaching their children, but that's their decision to make, as much as I think it is a load of hogwash (creationism and other fallacies).  It has also been said that the Duggars have no debt; their house is paid for, their cars are paid for, their children's basic needs are taken care of.  There are families out there with just one or two children who either have a lot of debt (like we do) or don't pay a speck of attention to their children.  So that doesn't bother me either.

What bothers me is the environmental impact this one family is having on the Earth.  They are a family of consumers.  They consume food, they consume space, they consume diapers, they consume water, and whatever is not consumed ends up in a landfill somewhere (I assume; I haven't seen them composting their tater tot casseroles [then again I assume there are no leftovers in their house.  Ever.]).  And they are teaching their children to go forth and start Quiverfull families of their own.  If all 19 children do that, and let's say that each child marries and has eight children, then that's 151 more grandchildren for Michelle and Jim Bob.  Whoa.  That's kinda crazy.

I am a consumer.  As Americans, we make up 1/20th of the world's population, yet we consume 1/4 of its energy and resources.  I try not to consume quite as much.  I turn down the heat and put on a sweater.  I turn the lights off when we're not in the room.  I try to buy local food when possible.  We recycle all the time and compost some of the time.  In the summer, we open the windows instead of turning on the air conditioning.  I drive a small car.  I could do more, and I want to do more.  I want to spend less money, consume fewer resources, and save more things.  And the Duggars don't do that.  And that's what really gets to me.

How much does it cost to heat their home?  Arkansas gets pretty cold in the winter.  And what about the crap food they feed their children?  That's not healthy, and that food doesn't come from healthy places.

I don't care if the Duggars are evangelical Christians - I guess it works for them.  I just shudder at the thought of their impact on the Earth. 

I don't think Jesus would approve.