Cattle raised on feedlots in North America have an average m

Cattle raised on feedlots in North America have an average mass of 415 kg and release approximately 37 kg of methane per head per year. If these cattle are butchered when they reach 2.0 years of age and 50% of their mass is suitable for human consumption, how many grams of methane are released during the production of 1 kg of beef?

Solution

Average mass of cattle = 415 Kg

Average methane per cattle = 37 Kg

Average methane per Kg of cattle = 37/415 = 0.089 kg per Kg of cattle = 89.15 g methane per Kg of cattle

% of meat = 50 %

Mass of beef = 1 Kg

Hence mass of meat required for 1 Kg beef = 1 kg / (50/100) = 2Kg

But 1 Kg meat = 89.15 g methane

Hence 2 Kg meat = 2 x 89.15 g = 178.3 g methane.