‘300-pound vegan’ David Carter to talk healthy eating, food deserts at Harvard

Former NFL lineman David Carter.Daniella Hehmann

Celtics guard Kyrie Irving isn’t the only jock on a plant-based diet these days 

Former NFL lineman and self-proclaimed “300-pound vegan” David Carter will be at Harvard Thursday touting the benefits of a meatless diet as part of the university’s annual Animal Law Week, and we’re told Irving may attend.

The 30-year-old Carter, who wanted to be a doctor before pursuing a career in professional football, taught himself the benefits of plant-based foods after watching his own health drastically improve with the change. (He was also persuaded by the documentary “Forks Over Knives,” which argues that a lot of degenerative diseases can be controlled or even remedied by ridding one’s diet of animal-based and processed foods.)

At a speech in Baltimore three years ago, an audience member lamented the lack of healthy eating options in some places, which prompted Carter to study so-called “food deserts” — geographic areas where healthy food is difficult or impossible to find.

“People of color were all standing up, like, ‘This is great information, but it’s hard for us to do this because of the community that we live in and the way that things are set up,’” Carter told us. For example, his hometown of South Central Los Angeles is a food desert, Carter said.

In addition to Irving, Carter said he’s invited C’s forward Jaylen Brown to attend the talk.