In recent years the organization of meat supply chains has been among the most animatedly discussed topics in agriculture and the food industry. Many authors hypothesize that contracts and vertical integration are paramount for the future competitiveness of meat production. But most arguments do not take into account the complexity of today's meat supply chains and the pivotal role private and cooperative livestock traders still play in many countries. In this paper we analyze the role and success factors of livestock trading cooperatives in modern meat supply chains. The results show that livestock trading cooperatives are most successful when their service spectrum meets members' needs and offers an added value to farmers. From a theoretical perspective, the results indicate that the idea of searching for "one best way of organizing" food supply chains might be misguided and current writing on this topic might be too deterministic.