History Main / BlackMarketProduce

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[[folder:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'' has a musical number that is based on a gift of a pineapple. See Real Life below.

* ''Series/DadsArmy'': Local spiv Private Walker sometimes dealt in produce as part of his black market activities. It plays a major role in "We Know Our Onions" where he has been using Jones' van to fulfill a black market order for Warden Hodges, the greengrocer, and has half a ton of onions hidden in the back when the platoon is ordered to take part in a Home Guard efficiency test and travel there is the van, towing a Smith gun with them.

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[[quoteright:338:[[Webcomic/FreakAngels https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freakangels.png]]]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/VForVendetta'', on Evey's first morning in the Shadow Gallery, she is given toast with her breakfast and is astonished to find real butter. V explains that he stole it from the Chancellor's supplies.

* In ''Literature/SuperMinion'' meat is very expensive, especially during Odd Summer. This is because, just like humans, animals can mutate or gain superpowers when in danger or under stress, so keeping them locked up during Odd Summer and especially trying to slaughter them is very dangerous.

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', the heroine makes her living poaching game and selling it on the black market, as District 12, the coal mining district, has no agriculture and isn't permitted any on a public scale.[[labelnote:Clarification]]She mentions peas can be grown in the garden in an attempt to reassemble a Capitol meal, her family owns a nanny goat that can produce milk and cheese, and some of the richer merchant families own goats and pigs, but she also explains that the ration grain is barely, if ever, enough to subsist a person, and death by starvation is very common in District 12.[[/labelnote]] In addition, most food that isn't made from grain rations is expensive and rather rare in the Districts. The decadent Capitol, on the other hand, has tons of food of all kinds, to the point some residents may vomit up the food they had previously eaten to eat ''more''.
* In ''[[Literature/TheBooksOfEmber The City of Ember]]'', the people of the city live mainly on canned food stored for decades in huge cellars. By the time the story takes place, the supply is getting low and only the most basic kinds of foods are left. Canned fruit is thought of as an exotic luxury enjoyed by previous generations. The few items (such as pineapple and applesauce) that do show up aren't being sold on the black market, but they are being stolen, hoarded, and jealously guarded. Lina has several "beautiful things" stuck up on her bedroom wall. One of them is the label from a can of peaches.
* In Gabrielle Zevin's ''Literature/{{Birthright}}'' trilogy, chocolate and caffeine products are illegal. Mafias, like the one the heroine Anya controls, run all trade and sales of them. In-universe, however, both chocolate and caffeine are considered to be as luxurious and psychedelic as [[GRatedDrug cocaine]], differing slightly from this trope.
* In the ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books, characters from the [=BookWorld=] want things from the Outland (the real world), and those things include foodstuffs. In response to requests and along with other non-food items, Thursday brings back a jar of Marmite, Moggilicious cat food (for The Cat Formerly Known as Cheshire), and Mintolas (for Marianne Dashwood, who describes them as, "A bit like like Munchies but minty").
* Nicky's house in Creator/RobertWestall's ''Literature/TheMachineGunners'' is being used a billet by a group of naval ratings; there's fresh bread and huge tins of real butter lying around open in the kitchen. Turns out these and a steady supply of booze are being smuggled off navy destroyers by several of the sailors.

* In ''84 Charing Cross Road'' by Helene Hanff, the author was a poor, aspiring writer living in New York City during the late 1940s. When she discovered a London used book shop that sold books by mail order, she began ordering vintage, yet inexpensive, works of English literature from them, as she loved old English things, especially books of non-fiction, such as Samuel Pepys diary. She found out about the food shortages the English people had to put up with, so she began sending holiday packages of food items that were difficult or impossible to obtain in England at the time to the store to be shared by the employees. She eventually developed a friendship with the store that spanned over 20 years, and the book documents the letters that were sent back and forth between them.
* In the backstory of ''Mindstar Rising'' by Creator/PeterFHamilton, the communist government ruling an alternate history Britain was undermined by having computers and other electronic goods flown in by stealth aircraft and distributed by an army of spivs. The local versions made in state-controlled companies simply couldn't compete and were only used by government offices.

* In ''Series/TerraNova'', the father brings an orange to the family in the opening scenes.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", an old woman reports the main characters to the Daleks and is rewarded with food, including an orange. "I haven't tasted an orange in years..."
* On ''Series/{{MASH}}'', the occasional real food was quite a treat. One time a farmer gave the unit a bunch of real eggs, not the reconstituted stuff they usually get. Another time Radar went through a ChainOfDeals in order to supply Col. Potter with fresh tomato juice after some accidentally got shipped to them and Potter liked it - but then after all that trouble, it turns out Potter is mildly allergic. He'd been without it for so long he forgot. In another incident, a wounded quartermaster that Hawkeye had operated on thanked him by diverting a side of beef meant for the table of the general who had gotten him wounded in the first place to the 4077th - the unit ends up rushing to thaw and cook the beef before the [=MPs=] sent by the general to recover his dinner arrive. (They arrive just as Potter is about to start carving the roast, and he tells them to sit down and [[EatTheEvidence have a slice]].)

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': in one episode, Quark is stated to had run a black market selling food to Bajorans during the Cardassian occupation.
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' has the black market ship [[MeaningfulName Prometheus]] which, in addition to smokes, drugs, prostitutes and jewelery, supplies the non-military members of the Fleet with the last remaining fresh fruit. It both serves to underscore that many civilians lack what the protagonists have been taking for granted and acts as a plot point to hint Ellen Tigh's connections when she shows up with a bowl full of grapes.
* The TV series ''Series/{{Bootleg}}'' was centred around a pair of kids setting up a black market chocolate operation after chocolate is banned by the government.

* Downplayed in Series/BabylonFive. Babylon 5 has a large hydroponics section, which grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. However, these are designed to provide a nutritionally complete diet, not provide a wide selection of food. Anything NOT grown in Hydroponics will need to be shipped from Earth, three weeks away, and while [[CasualInterstellarTravel interstellar travel may be common, it's still a bit risky]]. This means that any perishables will likely be spoiled when they arrive, and the shipping costs stellar.
** Garibaldi manages to get ingredients for a birthday treat (canned anchovies, olive oil and butter, sealed in airtight packaging) and at one point wins fudged paperwork which will allow him to have a steak transported from Earth in a stasis pod in a bet with the Doctor. This is shown only to be possible since Garibaldi is Chief of Security and has contacts ''everywhere''.
** Ivanova has managed to sneak a few coffee plants into hydroponics to not have to drink instant, and is at one point gifted a meal of eggs and bacon. This impresses Garibaldi to no end, since he has spent months trying to get eggs on board before they go off.
** Sheridan mentions that the two real privileges he has are a proper water shower in his quarters and that he can occasionally get his hands on enough oranges to make worthwhile amounts of orange juice.
** Subverted when G'Kar has a friend from Narn over for dinner. His friend is amazed that G'Kar could get breen, a native delicacy, from the Narn homeworld, but G'Kar reveals that the "breen" is in fact an identical Terran recipe, Swedish Meatballs.
* ''Series/TheMeetingPlaceCannotBeChanged'' is set in Moscow right after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, in the autumn of 1945. There's no famine, but food is being rationed, and anything above the set limits costs a lot. The Black Cat gang rob stores (murdering people for food and money) and then sell food through an accomplice in a cafeteria. The scene in their hideout is a feast honest people cannot afford, with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes.
* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Catalina comes from a poor village in a BananaRepublic [[note]] [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Its exact location is unknown]]. It has been said (variously) to be in Mexico, Bolivia, and even "Guadelatucky." [[/note]] , that has been overrun by drug cartels. When Dodge asks if she's ever played the game "Hot Potato," she assumes he's asking if she's ever had an ''actual'' hot potato. She tells him that hot potatoes were rare in her village, and were reserved for birthdays only. Even before that, a little girl on the bus to that village is so happy to have a churro, because she only gets one per year. She shows it to Earl, who assumes she's offering him a bite.
* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' has a background element that something happened to Hawaii in the other universe, making coffee something of a black market staple. As such, tea has pretty much taken its place.
* ''Series/TheExpanse'': Cheese is ''the'' hot commodity in the Belt. Fruit and vegetables can be hydroponically grown, legally or illegally, with minimal fuss, the vat-grown ArtificialMeat is not as good as the real deal but still a passable substitute and, while more diffcult, it isn't impossible to keep chickens or other small livestock for eggs and meat in Belt habitats. Cheese, on the other hand, requires either a large, female animal be kept alive and in good enough health to give milk, which is extremely difficult both to do and get away with, or wheels of cheese to be smuggled at great expense and risk from the Inner Worlds.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' in terms of warzones is pretty much a prime place for black market produce. As described by Hard Exit: "You want food, you can get food, if you want corned beef in a can, you might be shit out of luck." Depending on the location, the trope can become a little more literal. The staple of the Fifth World is nutrisoy, supplemented with enough vitamins and minerals that it'll keep a metahuman alive. To call the taste 'lacking', though, is inaccurate, because that implies that there ''is'' a taste. In Denver, there's also a ban on any Aztechnology products -- and Aztechnology is one of the biggest biological providers in the world. As such, there's a thriving black market and smuggling circus around drugs, weapons, biomods, oranges, cashews and steak. It's a not entirely inaccurate joke that a 'runner is more likely to be fervently attacked over a pallet of beef than a case of [[FantasticDrug tempo.]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'': Food is easy to come by in Alpha Complex. ''Real'' food is a rare luxury, only enjoyed by the higher security clearances. As such, the Infrared Market makes a tidy profit selling real food to citizens eager to try such luxuries. One of the reasons the Player Characters jump at the opportunity to become Troubleshooters is that this comes with a promotion to Red clearance, which guarantees them a piece of fresh fruit once every month.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'' has a musical number that is based on a gift of a pineapple. See Real Life below.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/MichaelPalin's film ''A Private Function'' deals with the shenanigans involved in keeping an undeclared pig out of view of inspectors from the Ministry of Food in wartime, so that its meat can be otherwise used without anyone offical finding out and confiscating it for the common good.

* In ''Anime/{{Beastars}}'', eating meat is frowned upon, but because carnivores still have instinctual urges to eat meat, there is a black market that sells the meat of those who've died in hospitals or of suicide, although some sell their own body parts as food. It's said to be a natural place that most carnivores will end up going and for good reason, as without an ethical source of meat many carnivores would kill and eat the flesh of other people.

* On ''Series/{{MASH}}'', the occasional real food was quite a treat. One time a farmer gave the unit a bunch of real eggs, not the reconstituted stuff they usually get. Another time Radar went through a ChainOfDeals in order to supply Col. Potter with fresh tomato juice after some accidentally got shipped to them and Potter liked it - but then after all that trouble, it turns out Potter is mildly allergic. He'd been without it for so long he forgot. In another incident, a wounded quartermaster that Hawkeye had operated on thanked him by diverting a side of beef meant for the table of the general who had gotten him wounded in the first place to the 4077th - the unit ends up rushing to thaw and cook the beef before the [=MPs=] sent by the general to recover his dinner arrive (They arrive just as Potter is about to start carving the roast, and he tells them to sit down and [[EatTheEvidence have a slice]]).

* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'', the trope is [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?order=chapters&id=839 lampshaded here]]. [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?order=chapters&id=1294 Chocolate is considered a recreational drug.]] Drowolath cooking relies heavily on Soylent Green and mushroom beer. Elves who rely on such staples can be identified by their tongues, which have become permanently purple.

* In the United Kingdom, oranges were a particular Yuletide treat, associated with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas Saint Nicholas]]. They recur (along with chocolate, butter, and meat) in works set in the austerity of post-WWII Britain, when wartime food rationing continued. Bananas, for instance, did not properly return to Britain until the early 1950s (''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' author Brian Jacques credits the FoodPorn in his novels to growing up with limited food, claiming the first time he'd had a banana was disappointing compared to dreaming about it).

You can find black market food in a [[SecretShop hidden store]], perhaps behind a [[BookcasePassage hinged shelf at the back]]--but only if you tell the {{Shopkeeper}} the secret password. No time to get to the secret shop? Find TheScrounger at the [[MyLocal local pub]] and he can probably sell you some food that FellOffTheBackOfATruck.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood, [[ArtificialMeat synthetic substitutes]], and adulterated foods, a character is shown buying fresh food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of slow, sensual, EroticEating. To be most effective, the work should first show us the grim, tasteless gruel that the proles have to subsist on.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood and synthetic substitutes, a character is shown buying fresh food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of slow, sensual, EroticEating. To be most effective, the work should first show us the grim, tasteless gruel that the proles have to subsist on.

However, an astute viewer might note that the foods selected by the authors are generally those that can be dramatically used by the actor/director to reinforce the crapsackiness of the CrapsackWorld and the greed and evil of the elites. It's never something that is dull but nutritious, like peanut butter or spinach. If it's an orange or strawberries, the color is used to make a stark contrast against the background. The rich, dark colors of foods like coffee and chocolate are a contrast against bleak grey surroundings.

You can find fresh food in a [[SecretShop hidden store]], perhaps behind a [[BookcasePassage hinged shelf at the back]]--but only if you tell the {{Shopkeeper}} the secret password. No time to get to the secret shop? Find TheScrounger at TheLocal and he can probably get you some food that FellOffTheBackOfATruck.

You can find fresh food in a [[SecretShop hidden store]], perhaps hidden behind a [[BookcasePassage hinged shelf at the back]]--but only if you tell the {{Shopkeeper}} the secret password. No time to get to the secret shop? Find TheScrounger loitering around the army base and he can probably get you some food that FellOffTheBackOfATruck.

You can find fresh food in a [[SecretStore hidden store]], perhaps hidden behind a [[BookcasePassage hinged shelf at the back]]--but only if you tell the {{Shopkeeper}} the secret password. No time to get to the secret shop? Find TheScrounger loitering around the army base and he can probably get you some food that FellOffTheBackOfATruck.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood and synthetic substitutes, a character is shown buying fresh food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of slow, sensual, EroticEating. To be mist effective, the work should first show us the grim, tasteless gruel that the process have to subsist on.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood and synthetic substitutes, a character is shown buying fresh food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of slow, sensual, EroticEating.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood, a character is shown buying food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of slow, sensual, EroticEating.

Sometimes, a character might be shocked to find one of these foods in a rich person's house. If only elites are able to obtain luxury foods, as in a totalitarian state, if a new character is shown carving up a sirloin, this reveals that they must be from the Inner Party.

However, an astute viewer might note that the foods selected by the authors are generally those that can be dramatically used by the actor/director to reinforce the crapsackiness of the CrapsackWorld and the greed and evil of the elites. It's never something that is dull but nutritious, like peanut butter or spinach. If it's an orange, the color is used to make a stark contrast against the background; coffee/chocolate/strawberries can be dramatically used by the actors.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood, a character is shown buying food in the BlackMarket for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange, a bag of coffee, or a steak. That character will either stand back and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of sensusl, EroticEating.

In many stories set in a CrapsackWorld where civilians subsist on nothing else but PovertyFood, a character is shown buying food in the BlackMarket, sometimes for an exorbitant price. At least one of the items being bought is something very sensuous, for example, either an orange or a sack of coffee. That character will either stand around and marvel at how wonderful the orange looks against the gray/sepia world, or press the coffee against his nose to absorb the aroma, or take a precious bite of chocolate and perform a milder version of EroticEating. Sometimes, a character might be shocked to find one of these foods in a rich person's house.

In-universe, this could be explained by OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap, or the authors are trying to evoke parallels to RealLife (see examples below). Also, because {{Dystopia}} tends to be set in [[GrimUpNorth northern climates]], it makes sense for people in northern climates to find foods from tropical areas as rare and sensuous because of the implied expense. However, an astute viewer might note that the foods selected by the authors are generally those that can be dramatically used by the actor/director to reinforce the crapsackiness of the CrapsackWorld and the greed and evil of the elites. It's never something that is dull but nutritious, like peanut butter or spinach. If it's an orange, the color is used to make a stark contrast against the background; coffee/chocolate can be dramatically used by the actors.

* ''Series/TheExpanse'': Cheese is ''the'' hot commodity in the Belt. Fruit and vegetables can be hydroponically grown, legally or illegally, with minimal fuss, the vat-grown ArtificialMeat is a passable substitute for the real deal and, while more diffcult, it isn't impossible to keep chickens or other small livestock for eggs and meat in Belt habitats. Cheese, on the other hand, requires either a large, female animal be kept alive and in good enough health to give milk, which is extremely difficult both to do and get away with, or wheels of cheese to be smuggled at great expense and risk from the Inner Worlds.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'': Food is easy to come by in Alpha Complex. ''Real'' food is a rare luxury, only enjoyed by the higher security clearances. As such, the Infrared Market makes a tidy profit selling real food to citizens eager to try such luxuries.

In-universe, this could be explained by OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap, or the authors are trying to evoke parallels to RealLife (see examples below). Also, because {{Dystopia}} tends to be set in [[GrimUpNorth northern climates]], it makes sense for people in northern climates to find foods from tropical areas as rare and sensuous because of the implied expense. However, an astute viewer might note that the foods selected by the authors are generally those that can be dramatically used by the actor/director to reinforce the crapsackiness of the CrapsackWorld. It's never something that is dull but nutritious, like peanut butter or spinach. If it's an orange, the color is used to make a stark contrast against the background; coffee/chocolate can be dramatically used by the actors.

* In ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', the heroine brings real tea and coffee to her hideout. She comments that there has been a surprising amount of coffee available lately, and deduces that Oceania (the superstate in which she lives) must have conquered Indonesia. Also, Winston meets a prole couple on a train who confide in him that they are hoping to get hold of some black-market butter while visiting relatives.

[[quoteright:339:[[Webcomic/FreakAngels https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freakangels.png]]]]

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', the heroine makes her living poaching game and selling it on the black market, as District 12, the coal mining district, has no agriculture and isn't permitted any on a public scale.[[labelnote]]She mentions peas can be grown in the garden in an attempt to reassemble a Capitol meal, her family owns a nanny goat that can produce milk and cheese, and some of the richer merchant families own goats and pigs, but she also explains that the ration grain is barely, if ever, enough to subsist a person, and death by starvation is very common in District 12.[[/labelnote]] In addition, most food that isn't made from grain rations is expensive and rather rare in the Districts. The decadent Capitol, on the other hand, has tons of food of all kinds, to the point some residents may vomit up the food they had previously eaten to eat ''more''.