Gluten Free Entomophagy

[Sputnik]

Hello, my name is Nick, and I was recently diagnosed with an intolerance to wheat gluten. Ingesting even the slightest bit of wheat gluten makes my stomach inflame, and my gag reflex is on a hair trigger for at least a couple hours thereafter. Changing my diet has actually been surprisingly easy, and I transitioned without missing a beat, really. Except for one issue; when I was diagnosed, I was in the process of phasing out conventional Western animal protein in lieu of insect protein. So, I was eating a lot of crickets, mealworms, waxworms, etc. After contacting my suppliers, I discovered that all of my insects are raised on oats and wheat, so I can no longer eat insects that are raised on such a diet, because unlike eating beef or chicken, when you eat a bug you eat everything, including it's stomach contents and what it was eating. So, I was curious to know if there's anyone on here who is like me, and knows where gluten-free raised insects can be purchased in North America, dead or alive. Short of raising them myself, I'm running out of ideas.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Nick

[mushroom]

I'm thinking you may well have to raise them yourself. Although most insects are naturally herbivorous, they would grow much quicker on grains and I don't think their culture has been much affected by the gluten free movement. It would be easier if you lived in Asia, Africa, South America or The Netherlands, or even the interior of Australia.