Western European cows get a pay rise

By Alex Singleton | 17 October 2005

While a billion people live on less than a dollar a day, it was revealed in today's Guardian newspaper that Europe's cows have had a pay rise. Each European cow used to get $2.20 a day, but the figures for 2003 show the average cow received $2.62.

When countries open themselves to globalization they get richer, and when they they protect themselves they hinder development. In 2000 all the EU countries, including France, signed up to the Lisbon Agenda - to become "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world by 2010". But by resisting globalization and retaining the Common Agricultural Policy, they're holding Europe's economy back, reducing investment in science and technology - and restricting opportunities the world's poorest, too.