THE oldest vegetarian organisation in the world has made a new appointment at the top.

The Vegetarian Society, which was established almost 175 years ago, has appointed Richard McIlwain as its new chief executive.

Based on Altrincham's Dunham Road, the organisation considers itself the place to go for information about a vegetarian lifestyle.

It is responsible for campaigns like National Vegetarian Week and schemes like one giving vegan meals to food banks, as well as the licensing of 'Vegetarian Society Approved' products across the UK.

Mr McIlwain is taking over at a critical time, with the issues of climate change, diet and animal welfare all demanding his immediate attention.

He said: "I'm thrilled to be leading the Vegetarian Society in this critical next decade for our planet.

"As someone who gave up eating meat around 30 years ago, I'm already invested in the charity's work, but there is so much more to achieve."

Mr McIlwain has a lot of experience in the environmental sector, both at the Environment Agency and at national charity Keep Britain Tidy.

He hopes to use this experience to build on The Vegetarian Society's work up until now.

He said: "Despite the growing interest in plant-based eating over the past five years, vegetarians and vegans are still in a minority.

"There remains a huge amount of work to do.

"We have a key role to play in encouraging more people to see that a vegetarian diet is not only a kinder, healthier and more environmentally-friendly diet, but one which looks and tastes fantastic too.

"We're the go-to charity for information for all things vegetarian, but over the next decade I want us to play a more active role in shaping a country in which plant-based eating becomes the new normal."

The Vegetarian Society is a national charity, which relies on donations, memberships and support from businesses to fund its work.

For more information, go to www.vegsoc.org.