diff --git a/.zuul.yaml b/.zuul.yaml
index cbbe37896b..9e1a61f0bb 100644
--- a/.zuul.yaml
+++ b/.zuul.yaml
@@ -242,6 +242,13 @@
           $GLANCE_API_CONF:
             DEFAULT:
               enabled_import_methods: "[\"copy-image\", \"glance-direct\"]"
+            wsgi:
+              python_interpreter: /usr/bin/python3
+          $GLANCE_IMAGE_IMPORT_CONF:
+            image_import_opts:
+              image_import_plugins: "['image_conversion']"
+            image_conversion:
+              output_format: raw
 
 - project:
     templates:
diff --git a/glance/async_/flows/plugins/image_conversion.py b/glance/async_/flows/plugins/image_conversion.py
index 3bfbc4a42e..a5165b0abf 100644
--- a/glance/async_/flows/plugins/image_conversion.py
+++ b/glance/async_/flows/plugins/image_conversion.py
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ class _ConvertImage(task.Task):
         self.image_repo = image_repo
         self.image_id = image_id
         self.dest_path = ""
+        self.python = CONF.wsgi.python_interpreter
         super(_ConvertImage, self).__init__(
             name='%s-Convert_Image-%s' % (task_type, task_id))
 
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ class _ConvertImage(task.Task):
                                            "--output=json",
                                            src_path,
                                            prlimit=utils.QEMU_IMG_PROC_LIMITS,
+                                           python_exec=self.python,
                                            log_errors=putils.LOG_ALL_ERRORS,)
         except OSError as exc:
             with excutils.save_and_reraise_exception():
diff --git a/glance/common/config.py b/glance/common/config.py
index cc5e45ef94..2093117ad6 100644
--- a/glance/common/config.py
+++ b/glance/common/config.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ Routines for configuring Glance
 
 import logging
 import os
+import sys
 
 from oslo_config import cfg
 from oslo_middleware import cors
@@ -578,6 +579,14 @@ too large, you *may* have increased memory footprint per worker and/or you
 may overwhelm other system resources such as disk or outbound network
 bandwidth. If this is too small, image import requests will have to wait
 until a thread becomes available to begin processing.""")),
+    cfg.StrOpt('python_interpreter',
+               default=sys.executable,
+               help=_("""
+Path to the python interpreter to use when spawning external
+processes. By default this is sys.executable, which should be the
+same interpreter running Glance itself. However, in some situations
+(i.e. uwsgi) this may not actually point to a python interpreter
+itself.""")),
 ]