Jag är ganska säker på att den aktuella boken är "Through Darkest America" (1986) av Neil Barrett .
Läsdenhärmångaförettårsedanochletatefteruppföljaren."Dawn's Uncertain Light". "Lager" är inte som människor, eftersom aktier inte har själar. Det är åtminstone det de berättade för sig själva.
Som beskrivs av SF-webbplatsen matchar romans inställning din beskrivning:
Over one hundred and fifty years ago there was the Great War, which wiped out most of humanity, brought down all the old cities and technology, and eliminated just about all animal life. But humanity has struggled its way back to reclaim the land. In Middle America, life continues, farmers grow their crops and raise their stock, and try to make an honest living in the world. ... During the War, most animal life was wiped out, and over time it's come to be believed that this was God's way of cleansing the "unclean flesh" the previous, corrupt, generation of men had eaten. Now all meat comes from stock, genetically bred humans with no intelligence or speech.
och huvudpersonen upptäcker att hans syster har blivit en av dessa:
In this harsh land, Howie undergoes brutal punishment and is literally beaten into adulthood. Through it all, the only saving grace is the knowledge that his younger sister Carolee has gone to Silver Island, the idyllic paradise the government has created to help restart society. But of course, this is not a world of happy endings and Howie makes an awful discovery about the true nature of Silver Island and its connection to the stock that people eat on a daily basis.