2023 Editor's note: Bradley Seibel contacted USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin journalists in January 2023 and said he did not invent the apparatus nor did he take credit for its creation at this 2017 event. A patent for a similar item is owned by Benjamin Staffeldt. We have also added a link to a blog post Seibel wrote in 2017 explaining where the idea originated.

Editor’s note: Since the posting of this story, Benjamin Staffeldt of Art Garden Growing Systems approached USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, saying he has a patent pending on the unit. The Network is working to verify Staffeldt's statements and will update the story once more information is available.

FOND DU LAC – For Bradley Seibel, starting a business is a moral crusade more than anything else.

Given his background, that's less surprising. He graduated in May with a degree in theology from Marian University in Fond du Lac. However, he's throwing that energy towards a detour for now: urban farming.

His thesis is simple: Why buy vegetables if you can grow them at home? To do that, Seibel has devised a contraption that he hopes will replace coffee tables and kitchen islands. It's a 55-gallon drum wrapped in reflective material, with 42 slots that can grow plants of all kinds.

The whole thing was based on "an aeroponics system developed by Ben Staffeldt to grow food year-round in an office space," according to a July 5, 2017, blog post on Victory Garden Initiative's website.

Armed with an array of troubling statistics about climate change, Seibel recently unveiled his creation before a crowd of a dozen or so, at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac.

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"We have the knowledge to meet these challenges, we can do it," Seibel said. "We just have to open our minds to it."

Though his degree at Marian University puts him on-track to become a pastor, Seibel feels compelled to make an honest effort to encourage people to grow their own food, eliminating the need for vegetables to be trucked to grocery stores, he said.

But Seibel wasn't always driven to save the planet.

As a "rebellious" teenager out of high school, Seibel lived as an atheist and had never eaten homegrown vegetables, he said. He was unhappy and searching for a change.

He found his way to a spiritual retreat, called Bumpity Road in Portage. During his three months there, he found God and tasted his first vegetable.

Both were a revelation.

"That was the first time I had food straight from the garden," Seibel said. "When you've only had food at a store, it's like night and day. I was just amazed at how good everything tasted and how good it made me feel."

Seibel's business, Aero Abundance, relies on a process called aeroponics, where plants feed on nutrients from mist. The pump is mounted into a hexagon-shaped coffee table that delivers nutrients through a series to plastic tubes to the plants. Seeds aren't planted in soil, but a wool made from coconut husk fibers.

He's worked with groups in Milwaukee and Portland, Oregon that advocate sustainable farming. And during his presentation, he found a receptive ear in Fond du Lac's Farm2Table Co-Op, who listened intently as he outlined his proposal.

He's still tinkering with the design of the product. While the prototype he shows off for the crowd is shaped like a cylinder, he's considering building a cone-shaped contraption that can better-catch light.

So far, light is the biggest challenge. He uses a searing red and blue LED light that mimics UV rays to light the contraption. That throws the tomatoes, herbs and lettuce into a faster growing cycle.

In all, the contraption cost Seibel about $500 to build. It whirs to life after Seibel plugs it into an outlet, pumping nutrients to the 42 plants poking out of tubes on the side of the barrel. The machine is self-sufficient, he said, and can produce a stream of vegetables without regular watering or attention.

A business model might entail Seibel building a machine for a client, then checking up on it. He's assembling a board of directors now to chart a path forward.

Realizing his dream will take plenty of work, Seibel is still enthralled.

"I had this vision for this self-contained system and It's just consumed me," Seibel said. "It's (about) reducing greenhouse gas emissions (and) reducing food insecurity."

Strengths: In industries like agriculture, there's plenty of expertise to consult in Fond du Lac County

Weaknesses: Like much of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County is reliant on just a few legacy industries

Opportunities: As awareness for the necessity of sustainable living improves, demand and business opportunities could too

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac theologian's startup is mission to save the planet