I do not have celiac disease, but I do have gluten sensitivity. There is no way I would eat meat that has touched a bun or the toppings off pizza, etc. It takes less than 200 ppm of gluten to cause a reaction in most people who are sensitive. Think of a piece of bread crumbled into a million pieces. 200 of those pieces would make a tiny crumb. I react with severe migraines and other neurological symptoms, not gut issues. Many researchers now think that celiac disease is actually the end result of a spectrum of disorders that result from eating gluten. If you don't react (and are sure about that) then go ahead. This idea of just eating the meat "off the bun" is becoming a problem for some celiac disease sufferers and those with gluten intolerance. Restaurant servers get confused when someone says they can't eat gluten and then eat a burger that touched a bun anyway or just pick off the croutons from a salad.

I would and I have. I have some sensitivity but eating meat that touched a bun would not hurt me. It may very well hurt a more sensitive body and certainly someone with celiacs. Some have the luxury of not caring about these things and some do not.

If you are new to paleo this sounds like a great opportunity to experiment. Eat it and watch yourself carefully looking to how you feel physically and mentally. I do think we all should have some idea of whether or not we are gluten sensitive and this might be a great way to gain knowledge to that end.

I would, and do. I don't have celiacs though, so someone with might have a different response. I can tolerate grain pretty easily, (and have to at certain times). I just choose not to when I don't have to. I don't think I'm endangering myself though by eating meat that has touched a piece of bread. Some of the grain free foods you eat are packaged in the same plants as grain. Unless it's states "gluten free", you can't be 100%.

I wouldn't worry too much. Unless you have celiacs. Then you might want to have more caution.

I wouldn't even touch a person that touches wheat.

I have lived 40 years without death by hamburger bun. I highly doubt eating a patty today that has touched buns (I wish I could touch buns without getting slapped) will cause me to have some sort of reaction.

I have chosen to eliminate wheat, but I am not going to be anal-retentive about the proximity of bun to burger if I can simply discard them.

People with legit allergic reactions may feel differently.

Even if you don't react in a celiac way to gluten, you could still be sensitive to it, with intolerance manifesting in other ways. Robb Wolf mentions this in a podcast: http://robbwolf.com/2011/03/29/the-paleo-solution-episode-73/ You probably won't get much gluten from a debunned burger, though. If you feel ok eating it, go on eating it. Just watch for "random" symptoms afterwards.

I just ate one yesterday! I served up burgers and hot dogs on buns for the others and then ate what was left over, so I had to take it off the bun.

I have no issues with gluten at all though, so it's not an issue for me.

I think that stressing out about eating a burger that touched a bun is probably worse for most people (excluding those with high levels of sensitivity to gluten) than the tiny amount of wheat that you might eat as a result.

It is a healthier way of life, not a cult. So don't worry about it. It's meat. Whatever the cow ate before it was slaughtered, it was turned into meat. So it's fine. If you have allergy or medical issues and the cross contamination is a real problem and not an imagined one...then don't. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

I get abdominal pain and bloating from gluten, but I can tolerate small amounts without symptoms. I had an endoscopy come up negative for celiac, so I don't worry about contamination.

I have celiac and have definitely been less than careful when it comes to cross contamination issues (during the summer I work in the backcountry, cooking with limited supplies and 4 gluten-gluttons). Honestly, I've never had an explicit incident (symptoms showing) from eating meat that's been cut with the same knife that's been used to spread mayo on bread. Going by this, I'm sure someone without celiac would be fine with a few incidents, though it's not something I would allow to happen often.

Yes, I do eat it cross-contaminated food on occasion but I avoid it 90% of the time.