The Better-Life certificate was established in 2007 by the Dutch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to guarantee consumers that the animal from which the meat is sold has had a good life. In this way the Animal Protection Society wanted to ensure that Dutch livestock farming would become more animal-friendly. The motto of the Animal Protection Society was "less and better meat".

Large slaughterhouses, supermarkets, the Dutch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the government made promises that they would produce in an increasingly animal-friendly manner. The hallmark was given the logo of the Dutch Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and was accompanied by one, two or three stars. The more stars, the more animal-friendly the production. Each year, the hallmark appeared on more packages of animal products.

Yet the livestock population has grown by millions since the introduction of the label. In addition, unpleasant things still happen to the animals that are not allowed, despite the label. Other slaughter methods require the purchase of new machines for which permits are needed, making the transition to animal-friendly production more difficult. In addition, the Gosschalk company, which is responsible for checking the farmers, is not strict when it comes to verifying compliance with the rules.